The general assembly of the United Nations voted overwhelmingly in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza but the Netherlands again abstained.

Caretaker foreign affairs minister Hanke Bruins Slot said the text of the motion was not clear enough about the temporary nature of the ceasefire. 

While supporting the motion’s call for the immediate release of all hostages and its concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the motion was “insufficiently clear” that the ceasefire would be temporary, the foreign ministry statement said.

“The sober reality is that Israel must be able to defend itself against the threat posed by Hamas and from elsewhere in the region,” the statement said. “We tried to have the text of the motion changed to reflect this, but did not succeed.” 

In total 153 countries voted for the motion, 10 were against and 23 abstained.  Germany, like the Netherlands, abstained on the vote but France and Belgium voted in favour. 

At the last vote on October 27 when the war between Hamas and Israel was three weeks old, 120 countries voted in favour of a ceasefire.