Foreign Minister Marise Payne has issued a veiled swipe at the UN after it blocked a historic US resolution condemning the militant Palestinian group Hamas, describing the fundamentalist unit as a “terrorist organisation” engaged in ongoing violence against Israel.
The 193-member General Assembly on Thursday night voted down the US resolution, which was supported by Australia and 86 other countries.
Senator Payne last night told The Weekend Australian, following the failed US resolution, that Hamas should have been condemned in the strongest possible terms. “Australia supported this resolution to condemn the egregious and ongoing violent acts of the terrorist organisation Hamas,” she said.
“Australia condemns Hamas’ activities in the strongest possible terms. Australia’s principled position in the United Nations has been consistent.
“Australia supports a two-state solution that allows Israel and a future Palestinian state to exist side-by-side, in peace and security, within internationally recognised borders.”
US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley accused the UN of being anti-Semitic and described the failure to pass the resolution a condemnation of the UN itself.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that “rejecting the American-drafted resolution against the resistance represents a blow to the American administration”.
Read the article by Simon Benson in The Australian.