First time ever: Egypt votes for Israel at the UN
- 9 years ago
For the first time since Israel's establishment in 1948, Egypt has voted in the Jewish state's favor in the United Nations.
The vote came during elections for membership in the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Affairs late last week.
The vote for Israel triggered angry criticism among Arab social media users, with some even creating a hashtag "Egypt votes for Israel" to criticize the vote.
In the face of the backlash Egyptian officials scrambled to clarify that they had only voted for Israel in order to enable the election of several Arab states as well.
"Egypt’s commitment to support the candidate of the Arab countries is the main motive behind the vote in favor of the resolution," Egyptian Foreign Ministetry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid told The Cairo Post Saturday.
The vote came during elections for membership in the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Affairs late last week.
The vote for Israel triggered angry criticism among Arab social media users, with some even creating a hashtag "Egypt votes for Israel" to criticize the vote.
In the face of the backlash Egyptian officials scrambled to clarify that they had only voted for Israel in order to enable the election of several Arab states as well.
"Egypt’s commitment to support the candidate of the Arab countries is the main motive behind the vote in favor of the resolution," Egyptian Foreign Ministetry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid told The Cairo Post Saturday.