General Assembly backs UNRWA, ignores revelations of school principals doubling as Hamas terrorists
NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2024 - The UN General Assembly rebuked Israel today in three separate resolutions, concluding the world body’s 2024 activity with a total of 17 resolutions that single out the Jewish state, compared to a total of 6 on the rest of the world combined.
On Tuesday, the UNGA adopted one resolution each on the regimes of North Korea, Iran, Syria and Myanmar, and one on Russia’s violations in Ukraine. In October, there was also one resolution condemning the U.S. for its embargo of Cuba. (Click here for texts and voting sheets.)
“The UN’s latest assault on Israel with a torrent of one-sided resolutions is surreal,” said Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, an independent non-governmental watchdog organization in Geneva.
“It’s absurd that in the year 2024, out of a total of 23 UN General Assembly resolutions that criticize countries, 17 of them-nearly three quarters-were focused on a single country, Israel. Make no mistake, the purpose of the lopsided condemnations is to delegitimize Israel and to demonize and dehumanize Israelis,” said Neuer.
“This demonization fuels the pro-Hamas agitators in America and around the world who today are targeting Jews with hate and violence on campus, at synagogues and community centers, and at their businesses.”
UN Reaffirms Support for UNRWA Despite Proven Ties to Terrorism
In resolutions today and last week, the UNGA completely ignored compelling evidence published by UN Watch that proves UNRWA’s widespread complicity with Hamas terrorists.
• Today a one-sided resolution singling out Israel for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, initiated by Norway, was adopted by a vote of 137 to 12, with 22 abstentions. The resolution expressed support for UNRWA despite its proven ties to Hamas terrorism while “welcoming” a July 2024 ICJ advisory opinion which declared that “Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful.” The resolution now launches another ICJ advisory opinion against the Jewish state. The text made no mention of Hamas’s looting of aid convoys as contributing to the humanitarian condition. “We’re not surprised to see Norway covering for terror-infested UNRWA,” said Neuer, “given that the director of Norway’s foreign ministry, Leni Stenseth, recently served as deputy chief of UNRWA, when she infamously visited Gaza and kowtowed before Hamas terror chief Yahya Sinwar.”
• Last week, in an emergency session to condemn Israel, the General Assembly passed a related resolution supporting UNRWA, which made no mention of Hamas infiltration of UNRWA, instead praising the agency for its “neutrality.” It passed by a vote of 159 to 9, with 11 abstentions. Shockingly, the U.K., Canada, and most of the European Union voted in support of this deeply biased resolution.
“Absurdly, both of these resolutions on UNRWA ignore the elephant in the room, with no mention of Hamas tunnels and military infrastructure built under UNRWA facilities, of senior UNRWA educators who double as Hamas terror chiefs, like Fathi Al-Sharif in Lebanon and Suhail Al-Hindi in Gaza, and no mention of the UNRWA schools that teach Palestinian children to dream of invading Israel, killing Jews and becoming martyrs,” said Neuer.
Two Other Resolutions Targeting Israel Today
• The UNGA today adopted two other biased resolutions against Israel. The resolution entitled “Oil slick on Lebanese shores” singled out Israel as the only country to be censured under the “Sustainable Development” agenda item, and refers to an alleged incident from the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. It passed by a vote of 167 to 9, with 6 abstentions. The UK and nearly all EU members voted in favor.
• A second resolution condemning Israel for allegedly exploiting natural resources of the Palestinians, and in the Golan, was adopted by a vote of 162 to 8, with 10 abstentions. The text makes no mention of Hamas commandeering international aid money to fund the construction of terror tunnels, harm caused to Israeli agriculture and to the environment caused by thousands of Hamas and Hezbollah rockets, or of the refusal of the Palestinians to develop their own water resources and deal with their own sewage, as required by the Oslo Accords.
Total of 17 UNGA Resolutions Against Israel in 2024
“The UN’s disproportionate assault against the Jewish state undermines the credibility of what is supposed to be an impartial international body. When the General Assembly embraces politicization and selectivity by discriminating against Israel, it violates the UN Charter guarantee of equal treatment to all nations, large and small,” Neuer added.
“We note that while France, Sweden, Spain, Ireland and other EU states have supported nearly all of the 17 resolutions adopted against Israel during this General Assembly session, the same European nations have failed to introduce a single UN resolution on gross violations of human rights affecting hundreds of millions of victims in China, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Turkey, Pakistan, Vietnam, Algeria, Sudan, or in 170 other countries,” said Neuer.
“Where is the supposed EU concern for international law and human rights?”
“Today’s farce at the General Assembly underscores a simple fact: the UN’s automatic majority has no interest in truly helping Palestinians, nor in protecting anyone’s human rights; the goal of these ritual, one-sided condemnations is only to scapegoat Israel,” said Neuer.
