The United Nations overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution on Wednesday condemning Israel for using “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate” force in Gaza following several fatal clashes along Israel’s border in recent weeks.
The bid, brought forward by Algeria, Turkey and Palestine, was passed in the United Nations General Assembly with a 120 to 8 vote, and featured 45 abstentions. The US, Israel, Australia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Togo and the Solomon Islands voted against the measure.
The resolution text condemned the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israeli civilian areas, but did not mention Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but carry political weight.
“The nature of this resolution clearly demonstrates that politics is driving the day. It is totally one-sided. It makes not one mention of the Hamas terrorists who routinely initiate the violence in Gaza,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the assembly before the vote.
The United States failed in a bid to amend the resolution with a paragraph that would have condemned violence by Hamas.
