‘Our Purpose Is To Stop Fighting’: UN Envoy

News Desk

United Nations: If you are fair and just, you will not blame one side and not the other. If you were to go back to the issue of who started this conflict, we all know who started it. When you push people into the corner, they will respond, said Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Ambassador Akram at UN General Assembly.

The Israeli occupation is the original sin in this case. It is not what happened on the seventh of October. That is a proximate cause but the real cause is the occupation of Palestine, Munir added.

Ambassador Akram appealed to all member states not to support the Canadian amendment, which he called one-sided, unequal and unfair.

The balanced Jordanian-led resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict survived a last-minute Western attempt to tilt the draft in Israel’s favour as it collapsed due to some hard work by its sponsors and a compelling speech by Pakistan’s diplomat Munir Akram.

Canada, backed by the United States, moved an amendment ahead of the vote in the UNGA that would have the draft unequivocally reject and condemn “the terrorist attacks by Hamas” in Israel which started on October 7 and the taking of hostages.

Significantly, India, now a strategic ally of Israel, voted for the amendment which failed to muster the required two-thirds majority, having received 88 votes in favour of 55 against, with 23 abstentions.

After the amendment was defeated, the Assembly went on to adopt the resolution by a wide margin of 120 votes in favour to 14 against, with 45 amendments. India was among those countries that abstained. France broke ranks with its Western allies by voting for the resolution.

French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere, speaking after the resolution passed, said he had voted in favour, as “nothing justifies the killing of civilians”.

Under its terms, the resolution demands “the immediate, continuous, sufficient, and unhindered provision” of essential goods and services to civilians throughout the Gaza Strip, including but not limited to water, food, medical supplies, fuel and electricity.

It encourages the establishment of humanitarian corridors and other initiatives to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and welcomes efforts in this regard.

The resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians who are being illegally held captive, demanding their safety, well-being, and humane treatment in compliance with international law.

It reaffirms that a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be achieved by peaceful means, based on the relevant UN resolutions in accordance with international law, and on the basis of a two-state solution. Additional input from agencies.