Argentina was one of only ten countries to vote against a peaceful two-state solution for Israel and Palestine in the United Nations (UN), which includes the disarmament of Hamas. The vote is in line with the Milei administration’s voiced intention of turning Argentina into a vocal Israeli ally on the international stage.
On Friday, 142 countries cast their votes in the UN General Assembly in favor of the so-called New York Declaration, while 12 nations abstained. Argentina voted against alongside Israel, the United States, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Tonga.
The vote was held against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and deteriorating prospects for the two-State solution, the UN said in a statement.
The war in Gaza
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups launched a surprise attack on Israel, in which 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, and 251 taken hostage. Israel launched an attack in Gaza that has so far killed over 64,000 Palestinians, almost half of them women and children, according to the local Health Ministry. Journalists, health workers, activists, and aid workers are also among those targeted and killed by Israel.
The conflict has also resulted in a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel’s blockade has cut off humanitarian aid, which has led to severe starvation. Israel has received extensive military and diplomatic support from the United States. In December, human rights organization Amnesty International issued a report concluding that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Since he took office, Argentine President Javier Milei has sided with Israel and the United States. He even pledged to relocate Argentina’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by 2026, a shift that would make Argentina only the seventh country in the world to do so.
The voted resolution includes an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian State. The roadmap also calls for the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza.
“This one-sided Declaration will not be remembered as a step toward peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens this Assembly’s credibility,” Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said ahead of the vote. He called Hamas “the biggest winner of any endorsement here today” and will declare it “the fruit of 7 October”.
The resolution quotes a 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which determined that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful, that it should bring an end to it, and “cease immediately” all new settlements. The resolution also calls for the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, as part of the two-state solution.