Czech Republic votes against UN resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza

The Czech Republic, the U.S., and Israel were among the ten countries that voted against the UN General Assembly resolution, which called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and was approved by an overwhelming majority of 153 countries on Tuesday, according to the AP news agency.

"We have actively supported the text of the resolution to include a condemnation of the Hamas terror attack of Oct. 7 and clearer language for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas and other terrorist groups. As we failed to get these changes into the text, the Czech Republic voted against them," Foreign Ministry spokesman Daniel Drake told ČTK.

Arab and Muslim countries initiated an urgent session of the UN General Assembly after the United States vetoed a similar resolution in the UN Security Council last week, also calling for a halt to the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement.

The new resolution calls for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip" and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as requiring the protection of the civilian population, as reported by the AFP French news agency.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan criticized the resolution, calling it hypocritical. He argued that a ceasefire would only strengthen the Palestinian Hamas movement.

The General Assembly did not approve a U.S. amendment condemning the terrorist attacks by the Palestinian Hamas movement on Oct. 7, which resulted in at least 1,200 casualties, according to Israeli authorities. Austria's attempt to include information about the hostages being taken by Hamas and other organizations also failed.

The United States expressed support for calls to release hostages, increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and improve civilian protection. However, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated that a ceasefire now would be temporary at best and dangerous at worst.

The resolution received more votes than a similar text that 120 countries supported in the General Assembly in October, as reported by AP. Among European countries, Austria voted against the resolution alongside the Czech Republic, while Germany, Slovakia, and Hungary abstained.