United Nations General Assembly hall in New York City.
A resolution that would have condemned Hamas as a terror organization failed to pass in the United Nations, falling below the two-thirds threshold needed to pass.
The resolution, which was spearheaded by the United States, denounced Hamas for using rockets and tunnels to attack Israel and “inciting violence.” While the resolution received a plurality of the vote with 87 in favor, 57 against and 33 abstentions, a motion was passed prior to the vote that required a two-thirds threshold to pass a resolution.
Hillel Neuer of U.N. Watch has the breakdown:
Shame on #Switzerland, #Norway & #NewZealand for abstaining on Arab League's PLO-authored gambit to require 2/3 vote on US draft resolution to condemn Hamas, thereby dooming the unprecedented censure. These nations today aided terror.
(Final vote on this motion was 75-72-26.) pic.twitter.com/9sPoGWkiZZ
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) December 6, 2018
Without the shackles of the unusual two-thirds requirement imposed by the PLO gambit, aided by the immoral 🇨🇭🇳🇴 🇳🇿 abstentions, the draft resolution to condemn Hamas, bravely presented by Nikki Haley, would have passed: it won the moral victory of 87 to 57, with 33 abstentions. pic.twitter.com/lFf8zaWo5n
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) December 6, 2018
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley excoriated the U.N. for failing to pass the resolution.
“We can’t talk about peace in the Middle East until we can agree on a basic condemnation of Hamas and its terrorism,” Haley said. “The U.N. had a chance to do that today, and it failed.”
Similarly, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said, “Wait when you will have to deal with terrorism in your own countries. Your silence in the face of evil reveals your true colors.”
“It tells us what side you are really on: a side that does not care for the lives of innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians who have fallen victim to the terrorists of Hamas,” Danon continued.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zhari tweeted that the resolution’s failure “represents a slap to the U.S. administration and confirmation of the legitimacy of the resistance.”
However, Danon did note in a tweet that “a record 87 countries condemned Hamas for its rocket fire & use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes against Israel.”
“I thank @nikkihaley for her hard work in forming an unprecedented coalition. We will continue to fight for the truth!” Danon wrote.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.