UN vote exposes EU rift on Gaza war

EU leaders painstakingly agreed to call for humanitarian pauses in Gaza at their summit last Thursday but a UN vote on Friday exposed the bloc’s deep divisions.

Only eight EU countries, including Malta, France and Spain, voted in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution calling for a humanitarian truce in Gaza.

The rest of the 27-member bloc either voted against or abstained.

In many ways, the UN vote reflects the tough discussions within the EU on how to deal with the unfolding situation in Israel and Gaza.

How EU countries voted on UN resolution

Favour (8): Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain

Against (4): Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary

Abstain (15): Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden

There is general consensus within the EU that Israel has a right to defend itself following the brutal attacks by Hamas militants on its territory on 7 October but must do so with respect to international law. However, some countries say it is up to Israel to determine how it conducts its military operations to go after Hamas and a ceasefire, which is a permanent stop in hostilities, will play into the hands of the Palestinian militants.

However, there is growing international concern and condemnation over Israel’s actions, which amount to collective punishment of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. Hence the calls for humanitarian pauses or a ceasefire.

The UN resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” was proposed by Jordan and backed by over 45 member states.

An amendment proposed by Canada and supported by more than 45 states, including the US, to explicitly condemn Hamas’s actions failed to get two-thirds support. Malta had voted in favour of the amendment.

Vote necessary after Security Council’s failure to achieve consensus

Malta and seven other EU member states voted in favour of the resolution

The UN General Assembly resolution is non-binding and was necessary after several draft resolutions at the Security Council were blocked by either Russia or the US. Five permanent members of the Security Council, including Russia and the US, have the right to veto resolutions brought in front of the body. No such veto exists in the General Assembly where a resolution needs two-thirds support from all UN member states to be approved.

The General Assembly resolution was approved with 120 votes in favour, 14 against and 45 abstentions.

The UN vote was taken just 24 hours after EU leaders gathered in Brussels to hammer out a common position that called for humanitarian pauses (plural) as opposed to pause (singular) in Israel’s relentless bombardment and siege of Gaza.

In EU capitals there have been several well-attended pro-Palestinian protest denouncing Israel’s aggression and calling for a ceasefire.

Humanitarian catastrophe

Israel’s war on Gaza is in retaliation to attacks on its territory on 7 October when Hamas militants from Gaza killed 1,400 Israelis and kidnapped more than 200 people.

Since then, the Israeli military has blocked off access to the Gaza Strip and bombed the territory in an attempt to target Hamas militants and their infrastructure. Since the weekend, the Israeli military has also started a ground invasion of the territory with troops and tanks engaging Hamas militants.

The Israeli attacks have killed more than 8,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and displaced thousands others causing what UN agencies call a humanitarian catastrophe.