Fiji has sided with Israel at the United Nations by opposing a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza.
The resolution – put forward by Jordan on behalf of the Arab group – also condemns all acts of violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including all “terror and indiscriminate attacks”.
Fiji, United States, Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga voted against the ceasefire – 120 votes in favour and 45 countries abstained.
Speaking in Nadi earlier this week, Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources Filimone Vosarogo said even though Fiji supports Israel because of our foreign policy, Fiji should also be clear about how Israel prosecutes this fight against Hamas.
“State players should live with the creed that even in war, the responsibility to protect civilians must be paramount, even in aggression,” he said.
Meanwhile, FijiFirst party leader Voreqe Bainimarama last night said Fiji’s vote contradicts its long-standing legacy as peacekeepers on which both the country’s reputation and that of the Fiji Military Forces have been founded.
