Kenya continues to take conflicting positions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, on Wednesday opting to abstain from a UN resolution calling for Israel to end “its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory” within 12 months.
In the resolution, 124 countries voted in favour, 14 against and 43 abstained.
And while Kenya abstained in the vote, Permanent Representative at the UN Ekitela Lokaale reaffirmed Kenya’s “unwavering support” for Palestinian self-determination through a two-state solution within pre-1967 borders.
The envoy further decried collective punishment of Palestinians, including the most vulnerable women, children and the sick, and obliterated destruction of essential civilian infrastructure by Israeli forces.
A statement by Kenyan Permanent Mission to the UN further called for sustained international support to UNRWA and agencies aiding Palestinians, even as it condemned all acts of terrorism regardless of the perpetrators or motivation, including the horrific October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians.
“Today at the United Nations General Assembly 10th Emergency Special Session on the situation in Middle East, Amb. Lokaale emphasized the centrality of political solutions in resolving conflicts.
“He further … warned that UN inaction jeopardizes its credibility as the guarantor of international peace and security,” the statement shared on X added.
According to Aj Labs, at least 41,272 people have been killed and 95,551 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza as of August 2024. In Israel, the number of those killed in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 was at least 1,139 while more than 200 people were taken captive.
STATEMENT AFTER OCTOBER 7
On 27 October 2023, Kenya voted in favour of a resolution calling for a humanitarian truce with a 121 votes for, 14 against and 44 abstentions.
In its statement, Kenya acknowledged that the desire for the Palestinian people for their land can never be estinguished.
“However, s long as the Palestinians grow up in rage because their lives, dignity and talents are distorted by the punishing occupation, their just cause will struggle to be led by legitimate resistance that rejects terrorism,” the statement at the time read in part.
Kenya has historically advocated a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
The conflicting positions reflect pronouncements in Nairobi, with President William Ruto initially expressing solidarity with Israel after October 7, and later condemning its occupation of Palestine.
“Kenya joins the rest of the world in solidarity with the State of Israel and unequivocally condemns terrorism and attacks on innocent civilians in the country. The people of Kenya and their government hereby express deepest sympathy and send condolences to the families of all victims,” President Ruto wrote on X.
The following month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, President Ruto said, “We believe that terrorism cannot be an answer to any conflict; neither is occupation”.
“We believe that Palestine should be a free state and we stand for a two-nation solution as a means of resolving the conflict,” the President said during the Saudi-Africa Summit.
An year earlier in November 2022, Kenya backed Palestine’s request to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories but retracted on that position in December and voted against Palestine’s request for an ICJ opinion on the legal consequences of the Israel occupation.
