New York – Zaytoun News
The United Nations General Assembly adopted by majority vote, on Wednesday evening, two resolutions to support the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The draft resolution “Supporting the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East” received the support of 159 countries, with nine objections and 11 abstentions, while the draft resolution “Demanding a ceasefire in Gaza” received the support of 158 countries, with nine objections and 13 abstentions.
That resolution demands that Israel respect UNRWA’s mandate and calls on the Israeli government “to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA and uphold its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip”.
Both votes culminated two days of speeches at the UN where speaker after speaker called for an end to Israel’s 14-month war on the Palestinian territory that has killed at least 44,805 people – mostly Palestinian women and children – and wounded 106,257.
“Gaza doesn’t exist any more,” Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told the General Assembly meeting. “It is destroyed. Civilians are facing hunger, despair and death,” he said.
“There is no reason for this war to continue. We need a ceasefire now. We need to bring hostages home now,” he added.
Algeria’s deputy UN ambassador Nacim Gaouaoui addressed the world’s inability to stop the war in Gaza: “The price of silence and failure in the face of the Palestinian tragedy is a very heavy price, and it will be heavier tomorrow.”
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