Panama abstained from voting on the Gaza ceasefire

Panama abstained from voting on a resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza. The Isthmus was one of 23 countries that abstained during the UN General Assembly.

However, the resolution was accepted with a majority of 153 votes in favor, while 10 voted against.

Among the countries that voted against, except Israel and NOW, There were some European states (Austria, the Czech Republic), as well as small Pacific states, Guatemala and Paraguay, while among the abstentions for the first time was Argentina, which joined the position of Italy, Germany and Ukraine.

At the end of the vote, many countriesThey strongly welcomed the resultwhich received much more support in this international call for a ceasefire (153 compared to 120 last time), although the votes of the Assembly are not binding.

Resolution d was “minimal” and focused on calling for a ceasefire in light of the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian population”, although it also included a call for the release of all hostages, and was not mentioned by Hamas.

Before the resolution itself, the Assembly rejected two amendments that Austria and the USA tried to introduce, in the first case to explicitly condemn the attacks by the armed wing of Hamas on October 7, and in the second to introduce and condemn the sexual violence allegedly committed by members of Hamas in that attack and in dealing with their hostages.

Israel reaffirms its position on the cease-fire in Gaza
The vote was requested by two groups of countries, Arab and Islamic, after the United States vetoed a similar resolution last Friday and had the support of thirteen of the fifteen members of the Security Council, but could not move forward after the US veto

According to UN regulations, whenever a resolution is vetoed in the Council, it is discussed in the Assembly at the request of at least two members.

At the session on Tuesday, iPresident of the AssemblyDennis Francis, who usually limits himself to procedural interventions without presenting an opinion, spoke at the beginning of the session and said:

“I wonder how many more thousands of lives have to be lost before we do something. There is no more time. This slaughter must stop. I therefore add my voice to the demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.”