We only needed to know the score, the magnitude of the thrashing, because the result was sealed.
The United Nations General Assembly, in an emergency session, voted on a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. There were no doubts: 153 votes in favor, 23 abstentions and ten against.
The isolation of Israel in its war against Hamas, which is causing an indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, according to the UN itself, and the loneliness of the United States in its support for its ally in the ‘ Middle East. They were joined by Austria, the Czech Republic, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea and Paraguay.
Washington’s solidarity with Jerusalem was once again expressed at an odd time. Just a few hours before this vote, President Joe Biden launched his sternest warning against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since this crisis broke out.
At the campaign reception, Biden remarked that Netanyahu “must change”. He warned that “the indiscriminate bombings” in Gaza lead Israel towards isolation. “It is starting to lose support in the world”, stressed Biden.
He seemed to anticipate the outcome at the UN. The vote is only a declaration of global goodwill because the Assembly has no executive power to impose its decisions. But it’s a huge moral victory for Palestine, which sees the world en masse on its side.
Calculations consider that 18,000 Palestinians have died since the Israeli army retaliated after the brutal attack carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7, with 1,200 dead and more than 200 hostages, of which they still hold a hundred.
There was already a similar situation a month and a half ago. On that occasion, the matter reached the Assembly after the US vetoed a resolution demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities. Then, only twelve countries joined Israel and Washington, by 120 in favor and 45 abstentions (several European). This time the numbers show even more isolation.
The case once again came to a vote of the entire body that makes up the UN due to another veto from the United States, but this time it has a different meaning because of the way it happened.
The Security Council last week considered asking for a humanitarian ceasefire after the exceptional initiative of António Guterres, UN Secretary General, who appealed to Article 99 of the Charter of Nations United, which had only been used three times previously in its history.
Guterres justified the move by the danger of the conflict spreading throughout the area and by the indication of an irreparable humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The ceasefire project, endorsed by a hundred countries, was stopped by the USA with its veto, while the United Kingdom abstained and 13 voted in favor.
