The UN Economic and Social Council on Tuesday passed an anti-Israeli resolution that focuses on "the social and economic consequences of the Israeli occupation." This resolution adopted a report that accuses Israel of withholding the return of terrorist bodies, yet ignores the civilians and bodies of Israeli soldiers Hamas currently holds hostage. In response to the resolution, Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, proposed an amendment, supported by the US representative to ECOSOC, Ambassador Kelley Currie, that called for Hamas to immediately release the civilians and return the soldiers’ bodies.
In proposing the amendment, Danon said: “For four years, Hamas has withheld the bodies of Israeli soldiers and denied their families any information about their situation in violation of international law... The UN must condemn the crimes of the Hamas terrorist organization and call for the immediate release of the bodies of soldiers and civilians held in Gaza.”
In response to the Israeli amendment, the European Union proposed a new amendment “deploring the practice of withholding the bodies of those killed, and calling for the release of the bodies that have not yet been returned to their relatives” in line with international law and “in accordance with their religious beliefs and traditions." This amendment was adopted by a majority of forty-five in favor and two against, with two abstentions.
After the vote, Ambassador Danon said: “Even as the UN fails, time and again, to condemn Hamas, the rules of the game are changing. These egregious anti-Israel decisions will not be tolerated, and we will continue to respond with counter-proposals. Today was ultimately about the crimes of Hamas, something we will not let the United Nations forget.”