Alcee Hastings, the senior Democrat in the Florida congressional delegation, is coming to U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s defense as she condemns Hamas over their continued efforts against Israel.
Haley motioned to condemn Hamas, and her move drew a majority of votes at the General Assembly, but it ultimately failed to pass because Kuwait was sponsoring a countermeasure, insisting that the United States needed a two-thirds majority to move forward with the condemnation.
In response, Hastings blasted the U.N.
Hastings commented that “The UNGA’s rejection of the US-sponsored resolution condemning Hamas for proliferating terror and firing rockets into Israel is an abject failure of the international community. As stated by Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Danny Dannon, ‘silence in the face of evil reveals your true colors.’ I could not agree more.”
He also added that “The indifference shown by so many at the UNGA for the lives of innocent Israeli and Palestinian victims of Hamas is both frustrating and heartbreaking. The failure of this resolution will likely be spun by the very forces it sought to reject to legitimize the continuation of terrorism and the cycle of violence that has already affected so many lives in Israel and Gaza. Such an outcome is, quite simply, disgusting. I am and have always been a supporter of human rights across the globe, just as I am and always have been a supporter of the UN. However, it becomes increasingly difficult to continue supporting the UN when the Arab block incessantly unites against resolutions like this one while supporting offensive resolutions disavowing Jewish ties to the most holy site in Judaism and rejecting Israel’s right to exist. These unfair attacks only make peace more elusive.”
Finally, Hastings asserted that “While this vote was a missed opportunity to unequivocally reject terror, I take heart knowing that this resolution failed because of a last minute rule-change requiring a two-thirds majority rather than a simple majority. The 87 nations that voted to support the resolution should be commended for standing up to terror. The United States will continue to stand with Israel.”
