Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia, addresses the 74th session of the General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York, on September 25, 2019 in New York. (Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP.)
BEIRUT — The United Nations General Assembly will vote Thursday on a draft resolution calling for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after the United States vetoed a similar initiative in the Security Council last week.
According to diplomats, the text is expected to pass with massive support from the 193 members of the General Assembly, despite pressures exerted this week by the Israeli delegation on several countries to not participate in what it termed a "politically motivated and counterproductive charade."
General Assembly resolutions are not binding, but they have symbolic significance as expressions of global opinion on the conflict. Previous Assembly calls to end the war between Israel and Hamas have not been heeded. Unlike the Security Council, no country has a veto right in the General Assembly.
Thursday's vote also comes ahead of a UN conference scheduled next week, aiming to revive international efforts for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians. The United States has urged countries not to participate.
In a memo seen by Reuters, Washington warns that "countries taking anti-Israeli measures in the wake of the conference will be considered as acting against U.S. foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences."
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