The UN Human Rights Council has called for a stop to arms sales to Israel. Germany voted against the non-binding resolution, as did the USA. Israel accuses the council of bias.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has called for an end to arms sales to Israel. This is necessary “to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations,” said a resolution by the body.
The non-binding resolution accuses Israel of obstructing access to water in the Gaza Strip and restricting the delivery of humanitarian aid. In addition to the demand to stop selling or supplying weapons to Israel, it demands an independent report that should also include deliveries to Israel that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.
Germany: Preconvictions against Israel
Germany, the USA and four other countries voted against the text. It does not mention the militant Islamist Hamas, denies Israel the right to self-defense and contains prejudgments against Israel, argued German Ambassador Katharina Stasch. At the same time, she emphasized that Israel must protect the Palestinian civilian population and allow aid deliveries. These issues were also addressed in the resolution.
The resolution was supported by 28 countries, including Belgium, Finland and Luxembourg. 13 countries abstained, including France and the Netherlands. France justified its abstention with the controversial use of the term genocide. The reference to genocide cannot be included in a text of such significance without the classification having been confirmed by an authorized judicial authority, explained Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont.
The text of the resolution, which was sharply critical of Israel, had been changed the day before in order to get as many members as possible to agree.
Israel throws advice Bias before
Israel’s ambassador Meirav Eilon Shakhar strongly condemned the resolution. “How many more dead Israelis do we need to condemn Hamas?” asked the diplomat at the Human Rights Council. The resolution does not contain a call for a ban on arms sales to Hamas. “A yes vote is a vote for Hamas,” she said.
The Israeli government regularly accuses the Human Rights Council of bias against Israel, occasionally supported by the United States. The Council has passed far more resolutions against Israel for its actions toward the Palestinians than against any other country over the years.
It is the first time that the UN Human Rights Council has taken a position on the six-month-long war between Israel and Hamas. This was triggered by the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th, in which around 1,170 people were killed and around 250 people were kidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel has taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 33,000 people have now been killed.