The European Union on Tuesday proposed an amendment to an anti-Israeli resolution, “deploring the practice of withholding the bodies of those killed, and calling for the release of the bodies that have not yet been returned to their relatives” in line with international law and “in accordance with their religious beliefs and traditions.” The amendment was adopted by a majority of 45 to 2, with two abstentions.
It began with the UN Economic and Social Council on Tuesday passed a resolution that focused on “the social and economic consequences of the Israeli occupation,” which adopted a report that accused Israel of withholding the return of terrorist bodies. The reported completely ignored the civilians and bodies of Israeli soldiers currently being held by Hamas.
In response to the resolution, Israel’s UN Envoy Danny Danon proposed an amendment, supported by the US representative to ECOSOC, Ambassador Kelley Eckels Currie, that called for Hamas to immediately release the Israeli civilians and return the soldiers’ bodies.
In proposing the amendment, Danon said: “For four years, Hamas has withheld the bodies of Israeli soldiers and denied their families any information about their situation in violation of international law… The UN must condemn the crimes of the Hamas terrorist organization and call for the immediate release of the bodies of soldiers and civilians held in Gaza.”
After the vote, Ambassador Danon said: “Even as the UN fails, time and again, to condemn Hamas, the rules of the game are changing. These egregious anti-Israel decisions will not be tolerated, and we will continue to respond with counter-proposals. Today was ultimately about the crimes of Hamas, something we will not let the United Nations forget.”