The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a nonbinding resolution on Friday calling for countries to place an arms embargo on Israel to help prevent “human rights violations” in the Gaza Strip.
The resolution was passed 47–28, with both the US and Germany voting against the measure. As per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the US and Germany provided 99 percent of Israel’s major arms imports in the past four years.
Prior to the vote, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Meirav Eilon Shahar, condemned the resolution that did not even mention Hamas or explicitly condemn its brutal acts on October 7.
“How many dead Israelis will it take to condemn Hamas? 1200 murdered is not enough. What atrocities will warrant condemnation?” Shahar scolded the council.
“The rape, mutilation and torture of Israelis was not enough. How many victims must there be for this Council to address Palestinian terrorism? A vote yes is a vote for Hamas! A vote yes is a vote for undermining Israel’s right to defend itself! A vote yes sends a clear message, me too, unless you’re a Jew!”
In addition to calling for an arms embargo on Israel, the UN resolution also urged countries to prevent any Israeli military operations into Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, warning of a “devastating humanitarian crisis.”
