Support for U.N. Condemnation of Hamas Unprecedented

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon was ecstatic on Thursday at the prospect of a U.N. General Assembly condemnation of Hamas after member states agreed to put the matter to a vote.

“The mere fact that the entire world now deals with Hamas, with all ambassadors sending this resolution to their capitals, is already a great accomplishment for us,” Danon told The Times of Israel.

“It’s a win-win. If we win, it will be a historic achievement. And if we don’t win, at least we succeeded in putting Hamas’s activities on the global agenda,” he said.

“We need to wait for the vote, but I am sure that we will get a majority of the countries to vote in favor of the resolution.”

Danon noted that Iran’s involvement in behalf of Hamas “worked against them.”

“Hamas turned to countries; Iran is very strongly engaged in this matter. In my eyes, this didn’t help the Palestinians, as it revealed who stands behind Hamas.”

Opponents of the measure may yet succeed in requiring a two-thirds majority for passage of the condemnation, based on a procedural point, which would make passage unlikely. However, Danon said there was a “very good chance that at least a majority of voting countries would support the draft.”

“We worked hard — our mission and also the American delegation. We believe that we will get the majority today at the General Assembly, something which in the past nobody believed it would ever happen,” he said.

On Wednesday, Germany condemned Hezbollah for digging tunnels to infiltrate Israeli territory.

“The German Government strongly condemns the aggressive behavior of Hezbollah, as manifested in the tunnel system built in violation of Israel’s territorial integrity,” said Germany’s Ambassador to Israel, Susanne Wasum-Rainer, in a tweet.

Britain’s Minister of State for the Middle East also backed Israel:

“U.K. condemns Hizballah [sic] tunnels into northern Israel. This is a blatant disregard of U.N. resolutions, threatening Israel and Lebanon’s stability. UNSCR 1701 must be implemented. U.K. supports Israel’s right to defend itself,” he tweeted.