UAE votes for Gaza ceasefire at UN General Assembly

The UAE voted in favour of two resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and lifting sanctions on UNRWA during an emergency special session on Gaza on Thursday. 

The ceasefire demand in the resolution - adopted with 158 votes in favour in the 193-member assembly - was expressed in more urgent language than one urging an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza that the body "called for" in October 2023 then "demanded" in December 2023.

The US, Israel, and seven other states voted against the resolution, while 13 abstained. 

The 10th emergency special session on Gaza was triggered by another use of the veto at the UN Security Council. 

The ambassador of Palestine thanked delegations, expressing hope that the ceasefire would begin imminently.

Had the resolution adopted by the Security Council last December been implemented a year ago, “we could have saved the lives of thousands of people,” he said, pointing out that the abuse of the veto had caused the Security Council to drag its feet.

Speaking on behalf of the UAE, Permanent Representative to the UN Mohamed Abushahab, said, "In light of the dangerous developments taking place in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and most especially in the Gaza Strip, we must take a firm stance and act urgently against the continued killing of civilians, and the deteriorating tragic humanitarian situation."

"[UNRWA'S] mandate must continue until there is a permanent, just, and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue – including the plight of the refugees, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the two-state solution," the representative said. 

Abushahab also touched on Israel's various other conflicts in the region, praising the ceasefire with Lebanon last month, and condemning its seizure of the buffer zone in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.