The seven page declaration was the result of an international
conference at the UN in July - hosted by Saudi Arabia and France - on the
decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the
event.
A resolution endorsing the declaration received 142 votes in
favor and 10 against, while 12 countries abstained.
The vote comes ahead of a meeting of world leaders on
September 22 - on the sidelines of the high level UN General Assembly - where
Britain and others are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian
state.
The
declaration endorsed by the 193-member General Assembly condemned the attacks
against Israel by Palestinian militants Hamas on October 07, 2023, which
triggered the war in Gaza.
It also
condemned the attacks by Israel against civilians and civilian infrastructure
in Gaza, siege and starvation, "which have resulted in a devastating
humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis."
"For
the first time today, the United Nations adopted a text condemning it for its
crimes and calling for its surrender and disarmament," he said in an X
post.
The resolution was supported by all Gulf Arab states. Israel
and the United States voted against it, along with Argentina, Hungary,
Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga.
The declaration endorsed by the resolution says the war in
Gaza "must end now" and support the deployment of a temporary
international stabilization mission mandated by the UN Security Council.
The
United States described the vote as "yet another misguided and ill-timed
publicity stunt" that undermined serious diplomatic efforts to end the
conflict. "Make no mistake, this resolution is a gift to Hamas," US
diplomat Morgan Ortagus told the General Assembly.
"Far
from promoting peace, the conference has already prolonged the war, emboldened
Hamas and harmed the prospects of peace in both short and long term."
Israel, which has long criticized the U.N. for not
condemning Hamas by name for the October 7 attacks, dismissed the declaration
as one-sided and described the vote as theater.
"The
only beneficiary is Hamas …When terrorists are the ones cheering, you are not
advancing peace; you are advancing terror," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny
Danon said.
