UN adopts resolution condemning Hamas attacks
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly adopted the “New York Declaration”, a resolution which aims to revive the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine while explicitly excluding Hamas.
The text was adopted on Friday with 142 votes to 10 and 12 abstentions. Israel and the United States voted against the measure, while Moldova abstained.
This comes despite Israel’s denunciation for nearly two years of the UN General Assembly and Security Council’s failure to condemn the unprecedented attacks by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
The declaration clearly condemns the group and demands that it lay down its arms.
"We condemn the attacks by Hamas against civilians on 7 October" and "Hamas must release all hostages" held in Gaza, the declaration states. It was signed in July by 17 states, including several Arab countries, during the first part of a UN conference on the two-state solution.
According to a source within the French presidency, this declaration should be considered the basis for a UN summit that Paris and Riyadh will co-chair on 22 September in New York, where President Emmanuel Macron has promised to recognise the state of Palestine.
"The only beneficiary here is Hamas," Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon said. "When terrorists are the ones applauding, you're not promoting peace; you're promoting terror."
American diplomat Morgan Ortagus said the resolution was "a gift to Hamas," adding that it had "already prolonged the war, emboldened Hamas and harmed peace prospects both in the short and long term."
Translation by Iurie Tataru
