Most Pacific Islands Forum member nations voted against a UN resolution calling for a humanitarian truce in Gaza.
Fiji, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia ( FSM), Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga voted with the United States and Israel.
Australia, Palau, Tuvalu, Kiribati, and Vanuatu abstained while Samoa did not participate in the voting.
Only the Solomon Islands and New Zealand voted for the UN resolution that called for an “immediate, durable, and sustainable humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas.
The UN resolution passed with 120 nations voting in favor of the ceasefire.
Palau abstained from voting when earlier President Surangel Whipps Jr. condemned the attacks on Israel by the Hamas Group calling it an “act of terror.”
In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Whipps expressed indignation at the killing of “hundreds of innocent individuals, including vulnerable women and children.”
Whipps expressed solidarity with Israel, joining allies like the United States in condemning the surprise attack.
“We believe in the inherent right to live free from fear and violence and staunchly condemn any assault on the fundamental principles of peace and security. Our Republic and our people stand in solidarity with Israel,” Whipps said,