United Nations condemns Israel's use of force against Palestinians

The United Nations General Assembly on June 13 condemned Israel's use of force against Palestinian civilians, andasked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to propose an international protection status for the occupied Palestinian territory.

Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip. Photo: EPA

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution condemning Israel's use of force against Palestinians by 120 votes to 8 with 45 abstentions. The resolution was drafted by Algeria, Türkiye and the Palestinians after the US vetoed a similar resolution at the Security Council earlier this month.

The resolution also condemns rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israeli neighborhoods but does not name Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. It also asks Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to propose within 60 days ways to ensure the safety and protection of Palestinians in areas controlled by Israel, including recommendations for an international protection mechanism. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but carry political weight.

Before the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley criticized the resolution as one-sided and said that Hamas “terrorists” were the ones who frequently incited violence in Gaza. The US failed to amend the resolution to condemn violence perpetrated by Hamas.

Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dany Dannon, said that countries supporting this resolution were complicit in a terrorist organization and giving strength to Hamas.

More than 120 Palestinian civilians have been killed as Israeli forces have cracked down on protests along the border with the Gaza Strip since March 30. Most of the casualties occurred on May 14, when the US opened its new embassy in Jerusalem.

In late 2017, 128 countries voted to pass a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling on the United States to rescind its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.