According to Palestinian Ambassador to the U.N., Riyad Mansour, the vote marked a historic day in light of the strong message sent from the General Assembly.
The vote came after the U.N. Security Council, which is responsible for global peace and security, repeatedly failed to pass a resolution. On Friday last week (8/12/2023), the United States, which is Israel's strongest ally and one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, used its veto to stop the latest draft resolution calling for a ceasefire.
The Security Council also took more than a month since the Hamas-Israel war broke out to speak, even then with a weak voice, after four of its member countries rejected the humanitarian pause resolution.
Indonesia, along with neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Brunei, and Singapore as well as Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and European countries such as France, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland support the resolution. Meanwhile, the ten countries that were rejected include Austria, Guatemala, Israel, Papua New Guinea, and the United States (U.S.).
Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the U.N., Abdulaziz Alwasil in his speech after the vote expressed his appreciation to all parties who supported the draft resolution that had just been adopted by the majority of members. According to Ambassador Abdulaziz, the voting results reflect the international position calling for the resolution to be enforced.
Earlier, ahead of Tuesday's vote, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that she agreed the humanitarian situation in Gaza was very bad. She also remarked that it was the diplomacy carried out by the U.S. on the ground that made possible the week-long humanitarian pause, referring to the only break in fighting so far, last month. Thomas-Greenfield then urged member states to support an amendment to the resolution that would have condemned Hamas, but it was rejected.
Even though the U.N. Security Council has passed a resolution, Israel continues to carry out military action in the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops have in recent days invaded Jenin in the West Bank. They killed several Palestinian youths, destroyed houses and public facilities, and detained hundreds of residents.
A non-binding resolution from the U.N. Security Council demanding a ceasefire does not seem to be able to stop Israel's brutal actions. For this reason, stronger measures are needed that can withstand, at least reduce the intensity of Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. If not, the death toll will continue to increase.