As Washington becomes increasingly enraged with its main partner, Israel, the UN Security Council will vote on a new resolution on Monday that calls for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” in Gaza.
It has been a few days since the US obstructed an earlier Security Council resolution that demanded a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the territory that Israel has occupied and is using to carry out lethal strikes in reprisal for Hamas’s historic October 7 offensive.
However, 153 of the 193 UN members cast votes in favour of a ceasefire at the General Assembly, outnumbering the about 140 nations that have consistently supported resolutions denouncing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
With such strong worldwide support following last Tuesday’s General Assembly decision, Arab states proposed the next Security Council resolution; nevertheless, it is still unclear what would happen to the most current phrasing.
The United Arab Emirates wrote the most recent plan, which AFP reviewed. It demands that hostilities end immediately and permanently so that safe and unfettered humanitarian supplies can reach the Gaza Strip.
It also “stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority” and reiterates support for a two-state solution in the region.
The US and Israel have expressed disapproval of the document’s failure to name Hamas at all. However, it demands the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” and denounces “all indiscriminate attacks against civilians.”
The world has harshly criticised the Security Council for having only passed one resolution concerning Gaza since the crisis began. The 15-member council asked for “humanitarian pauses” in that resolution; the US vetoed two other resolutions. Another five resolutions were turned down.
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Following US President Joe Biden’s warning to Israel that its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza will lose it international support, attempts appear to have been made on Sunday to break the impasse and go forward with negotiations on the revised language.
According to a statement sent to Washington by Human Rights Watch’s UN director Louis Charbonneau, the US “shouldn’t use vetoes to block resolutions aimed at stopping mass atrocities,” and it “should now back those words by acting at the UN Security Council to pressure Israel, as well as Palestinian armed groups, to comply with international humanitarian law and protect civilians.”
Although Security Council resolutions are legally binding, member countries frequently disregard them.
About 18,800 people, largely civilians and children, have perished in Gaza since the Israeli bombardment of the area started in retribution for Hamas’s strike on October 7, which Israel claims claimed 1,139 fatalities, also primarily civilian, and resulted in the capture of approximately 250 persons. This information comes from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza.
On Friday, UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour of Palestine declared that “there is only one moral position, one defensible position: ceasefire now, ceasefire now.”
“Calling for a ceasefire now, while hostages are still being held, is the most immoral thing to do,” he sharply said to his Israeli colleague Gilad Erdan.
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