UNITED NATIONS: India kept its delicate balance by voting with the US against the procedural requirement for a two-thirds majority while abstaining from voting on a UN General Assembly draft resolution put forward by the US on Hamas to avoid confronting the Arabs.
The US draft won 87 votes in the General Assembly compared to 58 against but fell short of a required two-thirds majority.
Thirty-two countries abstained. All the Arab countries voted against the resolution.
Backed by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, the draft was going to condemn Hamas’ rocket attacks against Israel, and it was the first drafted UNGA resolution to condemn the Palestinian resistance.
Before the vote on Thursday, a separate vote was held by the General Assembly to decide the majority it would need to pass the resolution, Xinhua reported.
[also_read url=”https://www.siasat.com/news/un-fails-pass-resolution-condemning-hamas-1442467/”]UN fails to pass resolution condemning Hamas[/also_read]
The resolution was met with fierce opposition by Iran, Palestine and a handful of Middle East countries.
The US asked for a simple majority, while Kuwait asked for a two-thirds majority. The Kuwaiti request won as a result.
The Ireland-sponsored resolution, which passed 156 for to six against with 12 abstentions, also reiterated support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue based on the pre-1967 borders and adherence to UN resolutions.
The Palestinians have severed ties with the administration of President Donald Trump after the decision nearly a year ago to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and declare the city Israel’s capital.
The US administration has also cut more than USD500 million in Palestinian aid.
The Palestinians see the city as the capital of their future state. International consensus has been that Jerusalem’s status must be negotiated between the two sides.