UN Gaza Ceasefire Resolution Passes 153-10

US voted against it, though Biden says 'indiscriminate bombing' is costing Israel support
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 12, 2023 7:58 PM CST
Biden: 'Indiscriminate Bombing' Is Costing Israel Support
President Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Biden on Tuesday warned that Israel was losing international support because of its "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza, speaking out in unusually strong language just hours before the United Nations demanded a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. "Israel's security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world supporting them," Biden said to donors during a fundraiser Tuesday. "They're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place," he said. The president said he thought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu understood, but he wasn't so sure about the Israeli war cabinet, the AP reports.

Hours later, during a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden refrained from offering the same public criticism again, but said that he had made it clear to Israel "the safety of innocent Palestinians is still of great concern." "The actions they're taking must be consistent with attempting to do everything possible to prevent innocent Palestinian civilians from being hurt, murdered, killed, lost," Biden said, adding that it was important to remember "what we're doing here."

On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in a 153-10 vote with 23 abstentions, NPR reports. The support was much higher than for an Oct. 27 Arab-sponsored resolution that called for a "humanitarian truce" leading to a cessation of hostilities, where the vote was 120-14 with 45 abstentions, the AP reports. The US and Israel opposed Tuesday's nonbinding resolution, as did Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay. Last week, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.)

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