India voted in favour of a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestine. The resolution, which disapproved settlement activities in ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan’, received approval on Thursday, November 9. The United States and Canada were among the seven countries that opposed the resolution, while 18 countries chose to abstain from the vote.

Last month, the United Nations General Assembly had passed a resolution urging an “immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. During that session, India abstained from supporting a resolution titled ‘Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations,’ drafted by Jordan. This resolution called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict and for unrestricted humanitarian access in the Gaza strip.

In response to an October 7 attack by Hamas that claimed the lives of 1,200 people, Israel initiated a massive counter-attack. This included persistent bombardments and a ground campaign, resulting in a reported 11,000 casualties in the Gaza Strip, predominantly civilians with a significant number being children.