NEW YORK — During a furious speech on Friday, Israel’s United Nations ambassador physically tore a copy of the UN charter to explain what he said was the General Assembly’s disregard for the document by allowing a referendum on Palestinian membership in the world body.
The stunt comes ahead of the General Assembly’s overwhelming vote on a Security Council resolution calling on Palestine, which has UN observer status, to become a full member.
Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan ripped his colleagues for wanting to “proceed the establishment of a Palestinian state of terror led by the Hitler of our time” by invoking the Holocaust, World War II and the October 7 Hamas attack.
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour, speaking shortly before Erdan, expressed grief over the death toll in Gaza and cited anti-war demonstrations at Columbia University.
Further:Biden Says ‘No Weapons’ to Israel in Case of Major Gaza Attack
Preparation for poll: See who’s running for president in our voter guide and compare where they stand on key issues
Humanitarian officials told USA TODAY that aid to Gaza has dwindled since Israel seized the key Rafah border crossing with Egypt and Hamas militants launched rocket attacks on the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza.
Israeli troops battled militants Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Aid officials said Israeli jets targeted high-rise buildings in the eastern part of Rafah. Israel has ordered about 100,000 residents — including people in Burbank, California — to leave for their own safety.
On Thursday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was strong enough to fight alone after President Joe Biden warned he would end US arms shipments to the country if he ordered a full-scale invasion of Rafah, Gaza.
“If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone,” Netanyahu said in a video message ahead of Israel’s Independence Day next week. “I said we’d fight with our fingernails if we had to.”
Follow USA TODAY for live updates.
The Palestine Resolution was passed in the UN General Assembly
A resolution calling on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s full membership in the UN has been passed by a majority.
Representatives from 143 countries voted yes, nine – including the United States – voted no, and 25 abstained.
“It is the United States’ view that unilateral actions at the UN and on the ground will not advance this goal,” Nate Evans, a spokesman for the US embassy to the UN, said Friday.
-Francesca Chambers and Don Morrison
Israeli ambassador shreds UN charter on stage
Israel’s Ambassador Gilad Erdan concluded his speech by producing a small, hand-held document shredder into which he fed a small prop copy of the United Nations Charter.
You are tearing up the UN Charter with your bare hands. “This day will go down in shame.”
-Don Morrison
Israel’s envoy calls for Holocaust, UN backs ‘Palestinian terror state’
Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan wanted the General Assembly to “advance the establishment of a Palestinian state of terror led by the Hitler of our time”.
He said it makes me sick. Erdoğan called the General Assembly a “shameless body”, welcomed “a terrorist state into its ranks” and repeatedly evoked the Holocaust. Elections in Palestine will elevate Hamas leader Yahya Shinwar to the Palestinian presidency, he told a peaceful assembly. “He owes you a deep debt of gratitude,” Erden said.
“You know the Palestinians are the exact opposite of wanting peace,” he said.
Noting that no Palestinian official had condemned Hamas’ October 7 attack, Erdan accused his Palestinian counterpart Mansour of shedding “crocodile tears”.
-Don Morrison
Palestinian Ambassador Praises Columbia University Protests
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour, citing anti-war protests at Columbia University, appealed to the General Assembly to pass a vote urging the Security Council to grant Palestine full membership in the UN.
Mansour described the Palestinian flag flying in solidarity with Gaza around the world, “and on the campus of Columbia University.”
New York police arrested 282 people at Columbia University and the City College of New York on April 30 after protesters refused to leave protest camps.
Mansoor called the flag “a symbol hoisted by all who believe in freedom”.
“Voting yes is the right thing to do,” he said.
-Don Morrison
The United Arab Emirates introduced a resolution urging the Security Council to make Palestine a full member of the UN
Mohamed Abushahab, the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, representing the Arab League, is submitting a draft resolution calling on the Palestinian Authority to “reconsider and support” the Security Council’s bid for full membership.
“Voting against this resolution is an act of moral and legal abandonment,” he told the assembly.
He called for voting at 11 am.
The US vetoed it in the Security Council last month The whole of Palestine.
-Don Morrison
UN General Assembly convenes with Palestinian referendum
An emergency special session of the UN General Assembly has begun. Members expect a vote – largely symbolic – on Friday on a draft resolution to make Palestine a full member of the world body. Full membership can only be ratified by the UN Security Council, where the US has one of five vetoes. The United States and Israel oppose the referendum.
See Live streaming activities here.
-Don Morrison
Israel’s UN votes for Palestinian membership
Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, slammed his General Assembly colleagues for allowing a referendum on Palestinian statehood.
“The U.N., in flagrant violation of its own charter, will vote to grant the Palestinian Authority rights and privileges reserved only to member states of the U.N. Council,” Erden told USA Today in a text message.
He said it was a reward for terrorism and would not strengthen Hamas and make peace possible. “This is one of the most destructive resolutions ever presented at the UN, made possible by the anti-Semitism and political interests that are so prevalent in the UN.”
The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry X said on Twitter earlier that it would “vote on Friday on a new draft resolution on the right of assembly”. #State of Palestine As a full member, it enhances its status in the UN system and its natural place in the nations of the world.”
-Kim Kelmgaard
UN Palestine agency closes after Jerusalem headquarters torched
Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNWRA, said in a post on social media platform X that he had decided to close the compound until proper security was restored. He said Thursday’s incident was the second in less than a week.
“This is an outrageous development. Once again, the lives of UN staff are at grave risk,” he said.
“It is the responsibility of the State of Israel as the occupying power to ensure that United Nations personnel and facilities are protected at all times,” he said.
– Reuters
Further:The report says Israel failed to prove that Hamas had deeply infiltrated the UN aid agency
Against Biden, Netanyahu evokes Israel’s 1948 War of Independence
In his message Thursday night, Netanyahu looked back to Israel’s founding 1948 war, when the fledgling government was attacked by a coalition of Arab states after it declared independence, defying a British mandate to divide the country into two nations. A Jew, an Arab.
“In the War of Independence 76 years ago, we were against many. We had no weapons. An arms embargo was imposed on Israel, but with great mental strength, courage and unity among us – we won,” Netanyahu said.
Quote:Will pro-Palestinian college protests lead to lasting change?
His government has vowed to enter Rafah to crush Hamas militants behind the October 7 border attacks that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Israel’s military says it has destroyed at least 18 of Hamas’ 24 battalions. However, thousands of Hamas fighters are believed to be holed up in Rafah.
On Wednesday night, President Joe Biden told CNN he would withhold offensive weapons from Israel if Netanyahu launched an all-out invasion of Rafah.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a result of those bombs and other routes that go after population centers,” Biden told CNN. The US has halted plans to send heavy bombs to its Middle East ally.
Israel’s activity in Rafah appears to have been limited so far.
Escape from GazaPalestinians pay tens of thousands of dollars to an Egyptian company to escape
But world leaders fear an even bigger humanitarian crisis there. Even without a full-scale Rafah invasion, medical facilities in Gaza’s southern city have been overwhelmed.
About 80,000 people have left Rafah this week. Border closures have halted humanitarian aid, with Israeli tanks massed on the edge of the city, the UN said. The agencies said Thursday.
Fact Check:The misspelled pro-Palestinian message came from the Canadian opposition, not Columbia University
“The number of these families is unbearable,” the UN relief agency said on social media. “Nowhere is safe.”
Meanwhile, negotiations between Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire deal appear to have stalled.
