North Macedonia’s Parliament on Wednesday rejected a proposed resolution calling for increased humanitarian assistance for Gaza, backed by opposition MPs, including Skender Rexhepi and Salih Murat of the European Front coalition.
Only 16 of the 120 members of Parliament voted in favour of the resolution, which had been placed on the session agenda at the request of Rexhepi but was ultimately not adopted.
The proposal called on the government to use all diplomatic means to increase international pressure on Israel and to provide humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
Speaking from the parliamentary podium, Rexhepi presented photos depicting the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and urged the Islamic Religious Community to organize public protests and coordinate relief efforts.
“Gaza today is an open-air concentration camp with two million people trapped without access to food, water or medical assistance. People are dying from starvation. The world must decide whether to stand on the right side of humanity,” said Rexhepi. “The EU and others are already condemning the Israeli government’s actions.”
Fellow MP Salih Murat, a co-sponsor of the resolution, described the rejection as a “historic shame.”
“Only 16 MPs voted to send basic aid—food and medicine—to starving children in Gaza. Our country is built on anti-fascist traditions, but today, our representatives chose the wrong side of history,” Murat said in a speech to Parliament. “Selective humanitarianism is not humanitarianism; it is hypocrisy.”
Imerlie Saliu, a member of the VLEN coalition, which supported the resolution despite being in opposition, said five of the 16 affirmative votes came from her group.
“For us, this is not a political issue—it is a human one,” Saliu said in a statement. “I have consistently spoken out against the genocide in Gaza and will continue to do so. This is not a topic for political campaigning. Gaza is a wound and a global shame.”
Saliu also denounced the situation as “genocide and a crime against humanity,” adding that truth and justice should not be subject to political convenience.
Beycan Ilyas, an MP from the Turkish Democratic Party (TDP), also condemned the decision to block the resolution.
“The agenda to discuss the genocide in Gaza was rejected once again. Turning a blind eye to Gaza is complicity in oppression,” Ilyas wrote on social media. “History will judge. Our stance is clear: No to genocide, no to the terrorist state of Israel.”
The Parliament’s refusal to debate or vote on the resolution triggered a wave of reactions on social media and among civil society, with some accusing lawmakers of moral failure amid an escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.