Gaza resolution
Scholz defends abstention in UN vote on Gaza
Chancellor Olaf Scholz assures Israel of support. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor is disappointed with Germany’s voting behavior. Chancellor Scholz explains his abstention from the UN vote.
Germany has “worked hard to reach a resolution from the United Nations General Assembly that does justice to the situation,” said Scholz during his visit to Nigeria. “When we didn’t succeed, we abstained from voting.”
The main aim of the negotiations was not to ignore “the fact that it was an aggression, a brutal, murderous aggression by Hamas that killed many people, children, babies, grandfathers and grandmothers,” emphasized Scholz. “This cannot be accepted and we will clearly support Israel in defending its own security.”
The UN resolution, adopted by a two-thirds majority on Friday, condemns all violence against the Israeli and Palestinian civilian populations, calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all “illegally detained” civilians and demands unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. It also calls for an “immediate permanent and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire” that should lead to a “cessation of hostilities”. There is no clear condemnation of Hamas’ terror as the cause of the war.
120 countries voted for the resolution, 45 abstained and 14 were against. The western states of the EU and the G7 did not find a common line. While France and Spain voted in favor, Germany, Great Britain and Italy abstained. The USA, along with several smaller EU states such as Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, voted no.
Disappointment in Israel
Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, expressed his disappointment with Germany’s voting behavior and called on the Federal Republic to clearly support his country at the United Nations. “We need Germany’s support at the UN,” said Prosor. Abstaining from a vote “because you cannot directly say that Hamas is responsible for this cruel massacre is not enough,” he criticized.