Sponsored resolution to condemn Hamas militants fails at United Nations

A US-authored resolution condemning the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas won a plurality of votes in the UN General Assembly on Thursday, but a procedural move initiated by its opponents thwarted its passage.

Thursday's resolution condemned Hamas for "repeatedly firing rockets into Israel and for inciting violence, thereby putting civilians at risk", and demanded that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other militant actors "cease all provocative actions and violent activity, including by using airborne incendiary devices".

The proposal failed to cross the threshold, with 87 nations voting in favour and 57 voting against.

Before the assembly voted on the text, the 193-member world body had narrowly voted to require a two-thirds majority for approval as sought by Arab nations, rather than the simple majority urged by the United States. "Just last Friday there was no decision that resolutions under this same agenda item had to be adopted by a two-thirds vote".

The Hamas leader further noted that the vote against the US-drafted resolution is a tremendous achievement for the Palestinian people and all brotherly countries. "That is something we should all think deeply about", she said, noting that the resolution was not a judgment one way or another on the peace process but "a foundational element of peace - that foundation is the rejection of terrorism, because we all know there can be no peace without a mutual agreement that terrorism is unacceptable".

Moreover, Spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement, Daoud Shihab, said the failure of the American resolution at the United Nations represents a slap to the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump as well as the Zionist regime (of Israel).

The Israeli diplomat also thanked his USA counterpart, Ambassador Nikki Haley, for her "close cooperation in fighting for the truth that led to the formation of an unprecedented coalition for Israel and against terrorism".

United States envoy Nikki Haley had said adoption would right a "historic wrong" as the United Nations has not passed such a condemnation.

The results of a vote are seen on display boards at the General Assembly hall, on December 21, 2017, at UN Headquarters in NY.

Danny Danon, the Israeli envoy to the United Nations, scolded the states that rejected the resolution.

A number of States explained their reasons for voting against the resolution. Isn't it time to let that go?

Both Israel and the United States exerted considerable effort to convince Arab states to join in a straightforward condemnation of Hamas, calling a denouncement of terrorism a basic building block for peace talks. Before the vote, she sent a letter to the missions of all 193 UN member nations asking them to support the US resolution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended those that voted in favor.

The United States put forward the resolution as it prepares to unveil new peace proposals that the Palestinians have already rejected.

The Saudi Arabian representative stated that, since 1967, Israel has not respected any General Assembly or Security Council resolutions, whilst Kuwait and Iran's representatives said that the resolution "ignores" and "deflects attention from" the root causes of the conflict.