Politics
Mint Explainer: Has Israel lost international support for its war in Gaza?
Summary
- Reversing its earlier stance, India has voted in favour of the UNGA resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
Two months into its military campaign in Gaza, Israel seems to be fighting a losing battle for international support. It has lost key votes at the United Nations and even supportive powers like the United States have voiced their discontent with Israel’s conduct of the war. Mint looks at Israel’s position. -
Has Israel lost support for its war?
Israel has seen some worrying setbacks in recent weeks. It lost a crucial vote at the UN General Assembly on an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that has ravaged Gaza. A total of 153 countries, including India voted in favour of the resolution, with only the US and a few small nations voting against. This was followed by US President Joe Biden suggesting that Israel’s indiscriminate bombing campaign was causing it to lose support around the world. This stark admission was accompanied by the Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu publicly stating that there are disagreements between Israeli and its biggest ally on the future of Gaza.
Is this borne out by facts?
A slew of public opinion polls, including those conducted by Pew Research and Brookings, find that support for Israel has declined in the US after several weeks of its military campaign in Gaza. States like Germany, which have staunchly supported Israel, have abstained at UN votes on the issue and have also called for Israel to do more to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. India, which had studiously maintained a balanced policy on the conflict, finally voted in favour of the UNGA resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
What does this mean for its conduct of the war?
Israel has indicated that it will continue the fight to eliminate Hamas regardless of whether it has international support. Both Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen expressed this sentiment. However, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to Israel this week and is expected to push Israeli officials for a timetable detailing the end of the war. It is unclear if Israel will be able to resist American pressure, given that the US has remained a stable bank of support for Israel at the United Nations Security Council.
How does this impact India?
India had earlier abstained at UN General Assembly votes on a ceasefire resolution. This was out of sympathy for Israel’s demand that a condemnation of Hamas for its 7 October attacks be included in the resolutions. This time around, despite the fact that this condemnation was eventually left out, India voted in favour of the UNGA resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Experts suggest that this reflects New Delhi’s assessment that the winds of international public and government opinion are shifting against Israel.
