The UN General Assembly will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution that calls for an immediate unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza war after the U.S. vetoed similar efforts last week after the Security Commission rejected.
Diplomats say that while Israel lobbies this week that the state does not object to participation “political motivation, counterproductive performance,” the 193-member congress will likely adopt the book with overwhelming support.
The General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but rather a reflection of the global perception of war. The human body's previous demands to end the war between Israel and Palestinian militants have been ignored. Unlike the UN Security Council, no country has rejected the veto at the General Assembly.
Thursday's vote is also ahead of next week's United Nations meeting, aiming to revitalize the international push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States has urged countries not to participate.
The United States rejected another UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, freeing hostages and unrestricted flow of aid, although 14 other members of the committee voted for the resolution. The latest resolution calls for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, but the United States believes it is the UN's performance process.
In a note seen by Reuters, the United States warned: “Countries that take anti-Israel actions will be seen as actions against U.S. foreign policy interests and may face diplomatic consequences.”
The United States last week rejected a resolution on the draft UN Security Council that also called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” and aid visits to Gaza are unhindered, believing that this will undermine U.S.-led efforts to promote a ceasefire.
14 other countries on the Council voted in favor of the draft as an enclave of more than 2 million people that the humanitarian crisis has captured more than 2 million people, and has only dabbled in the famine and aid since Israel closed down last month with an 11-week lockdown.
“False and Defamatory”: Israel's United Nations Ambassador
The draft resolution to vote on Thursday requires hostages held by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and the entire evacuation of Israeli forces from Gaza.
It calls for unhindered access to aid and “strongly condemns the hunger used by civilians as war and the illegal denial of humanitarian access and the illegal denial of civilians…a target essential for survival, including intentional obstruction of relief supplies and access.”
“This is both false and defamatory,” Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon wrote in a letter to UN member states on Tuesday.
Danon described the draft General Assembly resolution as a “extremely flawed and harmful text” and urged countries not to participate in what he called a “farce”, a “farce” that would undermine the hostage negotiations without condemning Hamas.
Given that previous efforts have produced few results, it is controversial whether the vote will affect Gaza's results.
In October 2023, the General Assembly called for a direct humanitarian truce in Gaza with 120 votes in favor. In December 2023, 153 countries voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. In December last year, the agency demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire of 158 votes.
The Israeli Sour people said that since 2023, the war in Gaza killed 1,200 Israeli people in an October 7 attack and brought about 250 hostages back to the enclave. Many people killed or arrested are civilians.
According to Gaza’s health authorities, Israel’s military campaign killed more than 54,000 Palestinians. They say civilians are the first to be blasted, losing thousands of bodies under the rubble.
