U.S. Pressuring Arab Allies to Back Anti-Hamas Resolution at UN

Date: 05 December 2018 - 21:02

News ID: ۶۰۴۲۲

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) – The United States is reportedly exerting pressure on several Arab countries to back its draft UN resolution against the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in support of the Zionist regime’s latest wave of attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip.
The UN General Assembly is scheduled to vote Thursday on the U.S.-drafted resolution that condemns Hamas for "firing rockets into Israel and for inciting violence.”
Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, had sent letters to diplomats from Morocco, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar in order to win their support for the resolution.
A U.S. administration official said Greenblatt had claimed that while denouncing Hamas, the motion urges support for efforts towards Palestinian political unity.
The countries which oppose terrorism and want stability in the region "have no reason” to reject the document, the U.S. envoy was further quoted as writing.
Greenblatt is also said to have described the resolution as the first UN condemnation of Hamas, claiming it is especially relevant amid a fresh escalation in the Gaza Strip.
He has urged Arab countries not to join the Palestinian Authority’s efforts against the motion.
Besides its Arab allies, the highly pro-Israel administration in Washington has also been lobbying its allies in Europe in support of the anti-Hamas draft.
Last week, the Zionist regime’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said U.S. diplomats had been in talks with their EU counterparts to secure their backing for the resolution, which has sparked criticisms from different Palestinian factions.
Recently, Head of Hamas Political Bureau Ismail Haniyeh wrote to the UN to highlight the importance of international work to thwart Washington’s "aggressive” efforts meant to delegitimize the Palestinian resistance.
He further reiterated the right of the Palestinian nation to defend themselves and resist the occupation, describing Hamas as a movement that acts for "the fulfillment of the Palestinian aspirations.”
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah have also rallied behind Hamas.
Azzam al-Ahmed, a senior Fatah official, said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had instructed the envoy to the UN to work on foiling the U.S. resolution.
"Hamas is part of the Palestinian people, and we won’t accept any attempt to add it to the list of terror groups,” Ahmed told Arabi21 news website.
Similarly, Fatah spokesman Osama Qawassmeh condemned the U.S.-led motion, saying instead of denouncing Hamas, the world should rap Israel "which is the true face of state-sponsored terrorism.”
"We will stand against all hostile efforts to condemn Hamas at the United Nations,” he said.

Palestinian demonstrators clash with Zionist troops after a protest against Israeli land seizures for Jewish settlements, on November 30, 2018 in the village of Mughir, north of Ramallah.