THE EMBASSY of Israel in Manila questioned on Monday the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, saying that the resolution is not reflective of the conditions “on-the-ground” in Israel.
This was after 152 countries, including the Philippines, recently voted in favor of the United Nations (UN) resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, including the unconditional release of all hostages.
“The political vote in the UN….is a political maneuver, which is initiated by some Arab countries supported by the Arab group, the Islamic group of countries by the non-allied movement, and by many countries but it doesn’t reflect what’s happening on the ground,” Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss told a news briefing.
Mr. Fluss noted that the resolution did not contain any condemnation of Hamas, including the Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis.
Israel launched waves of airstrikes in Gaza in retaliation after Hamas militants backed by waves of rockets stormed from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns on Oct. 7.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza on Tuesday said at least 18,400 people have died in the war. At least four Filipinos died.
Grisha Yakubovich, a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces, said Hamas should be the first to implement the resolution before the Israeli forces would comply on the call for a ceasefire.
“If Hamas will implement this resolution, and release the people in captivity, we will implement that immediately, but let Hamas be the first, not us,” Mr. Yakubovich told the same briefing.
“We don’t need others to tell us to lead a war according to the international law [when] we have our values,” he added.
The Philippines in October abstained from a similar United Nations (UN) resolution that called for an immediate “humanitarian truce” in Gaza. The United States and Israel also voted no to the resolution, which was drafted by a group of 22 Arab countries.
A month later, the Philippines joined 144 countries in favoring a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem and Syrian Gowan.
About 362 overseas Filipino Workers from Israel have returned to the Philippines, Migrant Workers officer-in-charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac said last week.
Israel and Hamas entered into a four-day truce last month, with the latter releasing more than 100 captives since then. Israel has freed more than 240 Palestinian prisoners in exchange. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz