Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that he is “very encouraged” by the international support for a successful UN resolution that calls for a number of measures in Gaza.
The Tánaiste thanked UN Secretary-General António Guterres for his leadership on the "crisis in Gaza" following the successful UN vote on Tuesday, December 12.
Very encouraged by overwhelming support of int. community for:
- Immediate humanitarian ceasefire
- Immediate & unconditional release of hostages
- Urgent humanitarian access
- Protection of civiliansThanks to @antonioguterres for leadership on crisis in #Gaza pic.twitter.com/a2p0s3wEjZ
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) December 12, 2023
On Tuesday evening, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution regarding "illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory."
The resolution demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, parties’ compliance with international law, and the release of all hostages.
153 countries, including Ireland, voted in favor of the resolution, 10 voted against, including Israel and the US, and 23 abstained, including the UK.
Palestine, a non-member observer at the UN, can speak at UN meetings but can't vote on resolutions.
The UN noted on Tuesday that "resolutions by the General Assembly, though not legally binding on nations, do carry immense moral weight, representing the collective resolve of the UN membership on a matter of grave importance."
The UN General Assembly met on Tuesday afternoon in Emergency Special Session on the decades long Israel-Palestine conflict and as the ongoing crisis in Gaza shows no signs of abating: pic.twitter.com/7TC2Dh05nz
— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) December 13, 2023
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 18,205 Palestinians - about 70% women and children - have been killed, and more than 50,100 people have been reportedly injured in Gaza.
Ireland has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza since the conflict began in October. A temporary ceasefire was observed in Gaza from November 24 through November 30, during which time Irish-Iraesli girl Emily Hand, 9, was among a number of hostages who freed.
On December 1, however, the Tánaiste said he was "outraged" that hostilities between Israel and Hamas had resumed.
Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday, the day after the UN resolution passed, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described the situation in Gaza as "unacceptable" and "intolerable."
Varadkar said: "That is why I will continue to make the case in Brussels and elsewhere for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in order that humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, hostages can be released and citizens of third countries who want to leave are able to do so.
"I will continue to make the case that Europe needs to change its position on Israel and Palestine, to be less passive and to push for and demand a two-state solution in a way that we have not done in the past. I will be making that case strongly with colleagues on Thursday and Friday."
He added: "The UN vote yesterday is significant. We welcome it.
"Of nearly 200 countries in the world, over 150 voted for a ceasefire yesterday in New York. Only ten countries are now siding with Israel.
"What we are seeing unfolding in Gaza is an absolute disaster for the Palestinian people and they are experiencing terrible suffering. I do not mean the Hamas terrorists, I mean the civilians. The majority of people being killed are civilians and the majority of them are women and children.
"I also think it is a disaster for Israel because this will not bring them security and it will not bring them peace. It is very quickly losing support and sympathy all around the world.
"Even its closest ally, the United States, is, I believe, beginning to have second thoughts about what is unfolding in Gaza.
"That is a strategic disaster for Israel. The Israelis are making a huge mistake. It is not just about the humanitarian suffering that is being imposed on the people in Palestine; what the Israeli Government is doing is jeopardising the long- and medium-term security of the Israeli people."
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