The Israel delegation at the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, proposed and then retracted a request for the inclusion of an emergency item in the assembly agenda in favor of enabling emigration from Gaza.
The proposal marked the first time such a proposal was made on a multi-national diplomatic stage.
The resolution’s title was “Ending the Double Standard: Calling on the International Community to Accept Refugees from Gaza Instead of Exploiting Them to Attack Israel,” and it was presented by Likud MK Dan Illouz.
According to the resolution, Israel’s military operation in Gaza is a necessary and justified war to eliminate Hamas, and Israel is making extensive efforts to minimize civilian casualties. However, the resolution says, “Civilian casualties occur in Gaza due to the extreme density of the urban battlefield and Hamas’s deliberate strategy of embedding itself within civilian areas.”
According to the resolution, the international community’s “refusal to accept refugees from Gaza contributes directly to civilian casualties by trapping them in a war zone instead of allowing them safe passage out of harm’s way.”
Providing a solution
The resolution denounced the “hypocrisy of nations that criticize Israel over civilian casualties while simultaneously blocking the very solution that could prevent them – providing refuge for those wishing to leave Gaza” and noted that “regional states, including Egypt and Jordan, have outright refused to accept refugees from Gaza, demonstrating that their political interests take precedence over the well-being of Palestinian civilians.”
The resolution called on all member states, “particularly those that have historically accepted refugees from other conflict zones,” to “immediately open their borders to civilians fleeing Gaza instead of condemning them to remain in a war zone.”
It also condemned “deliberate” refusal to accept refugees; held Hamas responsible for every civilian death; blamed the international community for its failure to act; declared that Israel “cannot allow Hamas to exploit civilian presence as a shield for its operations”; demanded that the countries and organizations that criticize Israel over civilian casualties take “real responsibility by providing a solution”; and affirmed Israel’s actions were “not only justified but necessary to ensure its survival.”
After presenting the proposal, the Israeli delegation removed it so as not to put it to a vote. The delegation succeeded in parallel in receiving the backing of other Western countries to exclude an anti-Israel clause from a separate request for the inclusion of an emergency item in the assembly agenda.
The separate request – titled The Need for Urgent Action on the Recent Violation of the Ceasefire Agreement by Israel in Palestine, the Escalating Conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan, and the Compounding Effects of Global Warming” – was submitted by the delegations of Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Jordan, and Egypt, with the support of the IPU’s Arab Group and African Group.
According to the request, in the war in Gaza, approximately 50,000 Palestinians have been killed; 1.9 million people were internally displaced in 2024; a further 142,000 were displaced between March 13 and 18, 2025; and an estimated $53.2 billion is required for recovery and reconstruction, with 292,000 homes destroyed or damaged and 95% of hospitals rendered non-functional.
The request called on all parliaments and governments to “call for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire, an end to military operations, and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to all conflict areas, including Palestine.”
The IPU was founded in 1889 to promote “inter-parliamentary dialogue and diplomacy between nations,” according to its website. Since then, the IPU has become a “unique global convening power for parliamentary networking, especially through its assemblies,” which are held twice a year.
Israel’s delegation at the assembly in Tashkent included Illouz, Likud MK Tsega Melaku, and Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak. Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana (Likud) addressed the assembly as well.