As Israel reels from a recent Hamas terror attack, described as the deadliest in decades, the U.N. Security Council refuses to sanction Hamas — or even label it as a terrorist organization. This despite the positions of many nations, according to Fox News Digital.
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, pointed out to Fox News Digital that the Security Council imposes sanctions and designations on groups such as al-Qaida, the Taliban, and ISIS. Still, no such measures have been applied to Iran's terror group network, including Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Security Council's resolutions from 1999, 2011, and 2015 mandate sanctions against ISIS and al-Qaida, as well as against associated individuals and groups. However, Hamas and Hezbollah continue to operate without such sanctions, according to the report.
The lack of a terrorist designation has implications as Israel responds to a surprise attack that claimed the lives of more than 1,300 Israelis.
"The U.N. insists these are legitimate political movements and, therefore, can freely work with them," Goldberg said.
Israeli and U.S. officials have criticized the U.N. for Israeli bias, particularly the Security Council, whose permanent members are the U.S., the U.K., France, China, and Russia.
During the Trump administration, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley's 2018 resolution to label Hamas as a terror group received only one vote in favor — that of the United States. An attempt to have the U.N. General Assembly condemn Hamas also failed.
The influence of Russia and its veto power often obstructs council actions against Iran and its affiliates. Despite a recent U.S. demand for the council to condemn "heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas," no immediate action was taken, The Associated Press reported.
Following the attack, U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood revealed that "a good number of countries" condemned the atrocity, but not all Security Council members did.
Israel's ambassador, Gilad Erdan, voiced his criticism of the U.N.'s response to the attack on Israel, accusing the international body of failing to address the arming of Hamas and its use of civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip for military purposes, according to Fox News.
Goldberg underscored the broader implications of the reluctance to designate Hamas as a terrorist group, affecting organizations like the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) during staff vetting procedures.
"There is zero requirement for UNRWA to submit its list of staff and beneficiaries for U.S. counterterrorism vetting," he said. "They use their lists instead. And since Hamas isn't a U.N.-designated terror group, they magically find no evidence of support for terrorism."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.