Palestinians hope UN General Assembly vote will show wide support for Gaza ceasefire

Planned vote comes after the US vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on Friday demanding a ceasefire in Gaza

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight and will reflect global views on the war

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Palestinians carry a list of Gaza victims during a rally in Ramallah city, in the occupied West Bank on Monday. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:46pm, 12 Dec 2023Updated: 1:48pm, 12 Dec 2023

The Palestinians are hoping that a vote Tuesday in the UN General Assembly on a nonbinding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire will demonstrate widespread global support for ending the war between Israel and Hamas, now in its third month.

After the United States vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on Friday demanding a humanitarian ceasefire, Arab and Islamic nations called for an emergency session of the 193-member General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon to vote on a resolution making the same demand.

Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding. But as UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Monday, the assembly’s messages “are also very important” and reflect world opinion.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told Associated Press on Sunday that the defeated resolution in the Security Council was cosponsored by 103 countries, and he is hoping for more cosponsors and a high vote for the General Assembly resolution on Tuesday.

In the first UN response to the Gaza war, the General Assembly on October 27 called for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza leading to a cessation of hostilities. The vote was 120-14 with 45 abstentions.