‘There’s still goodness in this world,’ says Palestine envoy as 121 nations rally to call to end war

More than 121 countries voted at the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday to adopt an Arab resolution calling for the war on Gaza to end and for humanitarian aid to be allowed to flow into the battered territory. Only 14 countries voted against it, one of which was the US.

An amendment to the resolution proposed by Canada, co-sponsored by the US and some European countries, that called for condemnation of Hamas failed to garner enough votes and was not adopted.

Before the vote, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, Munir Akram, said it was “amazing” that his Canadian counterpart did not feel the need while condemning Hamas to condemn Israel, too, “for the enormity of the crimes it has committed in Gaza.” He added that “the Israeli occupation is the original sin behind this crisis and not the Oct. 7 attack.”

If Canada wants to be fair, he continued, then it must condemn both sides or name neither.

Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s permanent observer to the UN, thanked the 120 nations who voted in favor of the resolution, telling reporters that “there is still goodness in this world and we will never forget your position today.”

However, the resolution represents only “chapter one,” he added, and he vowed to continue “knocking every door” to stop the war against Gaza.

The Arab resolution, titled “Protection of Civilians and Upholding Legal and Humanitarian Obligations,” condemns all acts of violence targeting Palestinian or Israeli civilians. It

calls for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities,” the “immediate and unconditional” release of all civilians who are being “illegally held captive,” and “the immediate, continuous, sufficient and unhindered” flow of life-saving aid to civilians throughout the Gaza Strip, including water, food, medical supplies, fuel and electricity.

It also “firmly rejects any attempts at the forced transfer of the Palestinian civilian population” and urges Israel, “the occupying power,” to rescind its evacuation order for Gazans in the north of the territory to relocate to the south.

After two weeks of almost continuous Israeli shelling, the UN has described the situation that more than 1.5 million Gazans are facing as “a catastrophe.” Much of the territory’s civilian infrastructure has been destroyed, including hospitals, schools, water and sanitation facilities, and about 40 percent of homes. Water supplies have all but run out, and there are reports that people have been forced to drink sewage water.

UN agencies have warned that very soon, mortality rates will “skyrocket due to disease outbreaks and lack of healthcare capacity.”

The UN resolution was sponsored by more than 47 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, along with Russia and a number of African and Latin American countries.