Advertisement

U.S. resolution condemning Hamas over Israel fails at U.N.

By Clyde Hughes
President Donald Trump meets with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the White House on October 9. Photo by Mark Wilson/UPI
President Donald Trump meets with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the White House on October 9. Photo by Mark Wilson/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The United Nations failed to pass a U.S. resolution condemning Hamas and other militant groups for their activities against Israel in Gaza.

While the majority of the U.N.'s general assembly voted for the resolution Thursday, the United States and outgoing ambassador Nikki Haley were outflanked procedurally, losing a vote beforehand requiring a two-thirds approval for the resolution to pass, instead of a simple majority.

Advertisement

In the end, 87 countries voted for the resolution condemning Hamas, 57 voted against and there were 33 abstentions.

"There is nothing more anti-Semitic than saying we cannot condemn terrorism against Israel, while we would not hesitate for a minute to condemn the same acts if they were taken against any other country," Haley told the body, Fox News reported.

She said Hamas has essentially turned Gaza into a "police state" since taking control of the area in 2007, as it's squashed dissenters with torture and arrests.

Several Arab nations countered the resolution, saying Israel is the aggressor and has ignored resolutions for what it calls an illegal occupation of Gaza.

Advertisement

"There is no balance and no symmetry in this conflict," Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N. Riyad Mansour said, the Wall Street Journal reported. "There is an occupier and an occupied people."

The U.S. resolution sought to chide Hamas for firing rockets into Israel and infiltrating the country with underground tunnels, and called for an end to the violence.

Israeli ambassador Danny Danon said the United Nations "should be ashamed of themselves" for missing a chance to condemn such actions. Representatives from Kuwait and Iran said the resolution ignored what they believe are the root causes of the conflict, meaning Israel's presence in Gaza.

Latest Headlines