Gaza diplomacy continues but yet fails to stop Israil

Diplomatic efforts to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza continue, and the general inclination of the UN countries seems to shift against Israel. However, Netanyahu’s government, backed by US President Joe Biden, and his administration do not appear to be affected by the shift.

Starting as a retaliation for Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of whom were civilians, Israel’s non-stop offensive against Gaza continues as the death toll rises to 18,600, the majority of whom are civilians.

According to local reports, 50 Palestinians have been killed in the last 30 hours during the Israeli army’s current operation, which included 250 air assaults on Gaza. According to reports, two days of bombardment have exacerbated the condition in Gaza. 

Meanwhile, Hamas claimed responsibility for the deaths of ten Israeli soldiers in an ambush in northern Gaza on December 13, the deadliest single attack on Israeli forces since October 7.

Gaza diplomacy continues

Under these conditions, Gaza diplomacy continues with the aim of achieving a permanent cease-fire. The joint mission of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League, which continues its diplomatic contacts with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s participation, is scheduled to meet with a group of European countries on December 15 in Oslo, Norway. The meeting is expected to be attended by the foreign ministers of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

The Islamic contact group had already met with the foreign ministers of United Nations Security Council veto-wielding members: the United States, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom. However, on December 9, the day the delegation met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to extend the ceasefire in Gaza, and on the same day, Biden used his authority to urgently sell 45,000 more tank shells to Israel.

Another vote at the United Nations

On December 12, the UN General Assembly voted to call for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” In the vote, which was proposed by Egypt and co-sponsored by 104 members, including Turkey, 10 member states voted against, including the United States and Israel; 23 abstained, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Argentina, and Hungary; and 153 voted in favour.

Despite the fact that the UN General Assembly vote has no sanctioning power without Security Council approval, it demonstrates a shift in international sentiment against Israel’s Gaza campaign. Indeed, countries such as Japan, India, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Finland, and Greece changed their votes and voted in favour of a ceasefire. Aside from public pressure in favour of a ceasefire, Turkey’s diplomacy in Gaza also played a role in this shift.

Which countries are we talking about?

Indeed, it is the changing landscape as a result of the Gaza diplomacy that prompted Biden’s statement, that Israel’s operations without regard for civilians had turned the international mood against it.

The following countries voted against the ceasefire in the previous vote: Israel, the United States, Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay.

Abstained: The United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine, Argentina, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malawi, the Marshall Islands, the Netherlands, Palu, Panama, Romania, Slovakia, South Sudan, Togo, Tonga, and Uruguay.

Changed their votes in favour of the ceasefire: Albania, Australia, Benin, Burundi, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Croatia, the Philippines, India, Sweden, Iceland, Japan, Jamaica, Cambodia, Canada, the Republic of Korea, North Macedonia, Latvia, Moldova, Monaco, Poland, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, the Seychelles, Serbia, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Greece, and Zambia.