New York - In an unprecedented move that is causing an uproar in the Arab world, Egypt voted in favor of Israel at the United Nations.
New York – In an unprecedented move that is causing an uproar in the Arab world, Egypt voted in favor of Israel at the United Nations.
Last Friday, member states of the United Nations voted on Israel’s election as a member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).
Since Israel was accepted as a UN member state in 1948, Egypt had consistently voted against the Hebrew state in every UN vote. But last Friday, Egyptian officials decided to break this rule and supported Israel membership at the UNOOSA.
Israel garnered 117 votes, including Egypt, following “intensive diplomatic efforts”.
Morocco abstained from casting a vote, along with 21 other member states, including Mauritania, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as Qatar, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait and Iraq.
Following Cairo’s controversial support for the Tel Aviv, Egyptian President Abdul-Fatah al-Sisi has come under harsh criticism.
Egypt’s support for Israel is stirring uproar in Egypt, which forced the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abu Zeid, to justify the vote for the state of Israel as “crucial” to help other Arab nations to be accepted into the UN space committee.
Egyptian political party the Socialist Popular Alliance (SPAP) said in a statement on its official Facebook page that there is no valid justification for Egypt’s “shameful” act in supporting the state of Israel.
“We demand that the Egyptian authorities publicly apologize to the Egyptian citizens and the martyr’s families,” the SPAP said.
“Israel is Egypt’s first enemy, and voting for Israel is considered a breach of the 25 January Revolution’s goals, after it succeeded to close the Israeli embassy in Egypt in 2011,” Yehia El-Gaafary, the SPAP’s media secretary told the Daily News Egypt.
The Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) movement in support of the Palestine has also condemned Egypt’s vote for Israel.
“We are sending an apology to our brothers in Palestine and all the occupied Arab countries, affirming our support for the Palestinian uprising. We call on all the Egyptian people to reject and condemn this situation to confirm their support for the Palestinian people,” the BDS said.
