India Seeks Condemnation Of Hamas In UN

NEW YORK, NY (ANI) – Even as India was among the countries that abstained from voting for a non-binding Jordanian resolution, it voted in favor of a Canada-led amendment to the draft resolution on the Gaza crisis which failed to pass at the UNGA as it did not achieve a two-thirds majority.

Canada proposed an amendment to the resolution drafted by Jordan, which originally called for unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip but did not condemn the terror organization Hamas. Canada’s proposed amendment sought to insert a paragraph condemning the ‘terrorist attacks by Hamas.’

India abstained from voting on the Jordanian resolution which called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists in Gaza. However, it is pertinent to note that India was in favor of the Canadian resolution which condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas.

The Jordanian-led draft resolution was adopted by the General Assembly, with 120 votes in favor, 14 against, and 45 abstentions. The 45 nations that abstained from voting on the resolution included Iceland, India, Panama, Lithuania, and Greece.

The resolution was adopted during the UN General Assembly’s emergency special session on the Israel-Palestine crisis. The UNGA also demanded “continuous, sufficient and unhindered” provision of lifesaving supplies and services for civilians trapped inside the enclave.

The Canada-led amendment to the draft resolution on the Gaza crisis did not pass at the UNGA. It failed to achieve a two-thirds majority. An amendment proposed by Canada “unequivocally rejects and condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas” in Israel which started on October 7 and the taking of hostages.

During the voting on the Canada-led amendment to the draft resolution, 88 voted in favor of the amendment, 55 voted against the amendment and 23 abstained from voting. The nations that voted in favor of the amendment included India, Australia, US, the UK, Austria, and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, expressing deep concerns over the deteriorating security situation and the astounding loss of civilian lives in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, India at the UN urged both parties to “de-escalate, eschew violence.”

India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Yojna Patel in her remarks on October 27 at the United Nations General Assembly Emergency Special Session on the Israel-Hamas war said, “All parties must display the utmost responsibility.” She noted that India has always supported a “negotiated two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine.”

Patel also called the Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7 “shocking” and stressed that they deserve condemnation. She said that India calls for immediate and unconditional release of hostages.

The adoption of the Jordanian resolution is the first formal response of the United Nations to the escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine since the Hamas terror attacks.

The voting at UNGA comes at a time when Israel has announced expanding ground operations in Gaza.