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Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD)
Photo: Hatim Kaghat / dpa
Only 14 countries voted against a recently adopted UN resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza. Germany abstained and was criticized by Israel for it. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has now defended the German decision. Germany has "worked hard to reach a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly that does justice to the situation," Scholz said. When we didn't succeed, we abstained."
The main aim of the negotiations was not to ignore "the fact that this was an act of aggression, a brutal murderous aggression by Hamas, which killed many people, children, babies, grandfathers and grandmothers," Scholz stressed. This is unacceptable, and we will clearly support Israel in defending its own security."
The UN resolution, adopted by a two-thirds majority on Friday, condemns all violence against Israeli and Palestinian civilians, calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all "illegally detained" civilians, and calls for unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. It also calls for an "immediate, lasting and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire" that would lead to a "cessation of hostilities." There is no unequivocal condemnation of Hamas' terror as the instigator of the war.
Resolution divides the West
120 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 45 abstained, and 14 were against. The Western states of the EU and the G7 did not find a common line. While France and Spain voted in favour, Germany, the UK and Italy abstained. The U.S., along with several smaller EU states such as Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, voted no.
Israel's ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, had expressed disappointment with Germany's voting behaviour and called on the Federal Republic to clearly support his country at the United Nations. "We need Germany's support at the UN," Prosor said. Abstaining from a vote "because you can't say directly that Hamas is responsible for this horrific massacre is not enough," he said.
"Disappointment for the Jews in Germany"
The president of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, had also criticized the abstention in the "Tagesspiegel am Sonntag" and spoke of a "disappointment for the Jews in Germany." With its abstention, Germany had supported the "relativizing attitude of the UN towards Israel."
The coalition party FDP was also critical. FDP leader Christian Lindner indirectly complained that he had not been involved in the decision. FDP Secretary-General Bijan Djir-Sarai told the Tagesspiegel newspaper that the Foreign Ministry's vote was disappointing and incomprehensible.
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