Russia and China vetoed on Friday an American resolution emphasizing the “need” for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza, denouncing like the Arab countries an ambiguous formulation which does not directly call for silencing arms.
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A “cynical” and “mean-minded” decision, castigated the American ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“China and Russia simply did not want to vote for a draft drafted by the United States, because they would rather see us fail than see the Council succeed,” she added, raising the threat of an American veto of another text directly calling for an “immediate ceasefire” which will be put to the vote on Saturday.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, the Americans had systematically opposed the use of the term “ceasefire” in UN resolutions, blocking three texts in this sense.
But they finally decided to put to the vote on Friday this text which noted “the need for an immediate and lasting ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, to allow the provision of essential humanitarian aid (…) , and with this in mind, unequivocally supports international diplomatic efforts to achieve such a ceasefire in connection with the release of the hostages still detained.
“Diluted formulation”
While the United States is under pressure from the international community to soften its support for Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called this initiative on Wednesday a “strong signal”.
This resolution “calls for an immediate ceasefire linked to the release of the hostages,” he assured in an interview with the Saudi television channel Al Hadath.
But the text, which received 11 votes in favor, three votes against (Russia, China and Algeria) and one abstention (Guyana), does not use the words “calls” or “requests” and makes a link between this truce and the ongoing negotiations in Doha for the release of the hostages.
Russian Ambassador Vassili Nebenzia denounced the “hypocritical spectacle” of the United States which tried to “sell the international community a totally different product, a diluted formulation”, while “Gaza has almost been erased from the map”.
Welcoming the American “efforts”, the Algerian ambassador Amar Bendjama nevertheless denounced a text “far from our expectations”, not up to “the immense suffering of the Palestinian people”.
A rejection of this resolution supported “unanimously” by Arab countries, because it “does not call for an immediate ceasefire,” commented Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour.
If the American project had been adopted, the Council would also have for the first time specifically condemned the Hamas attacks of October 7 against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count established from official Israeli data.
“The Council’s decision not to condemn Hamas is a stain that will never be forgotten,” denounced Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan.
Another resolution Saturday
After this rejection of the American text, an alternative text carried by seven non-permanent members of the Council (Algeria, Malta, Mozambique, Guyana, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Switzerland) will be put to the vote on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. GMT, according to diplomatic sources.
This text seen by AFP “demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for the month of Ramadan” and the immediate release of all hostages, while the Israeli offensive has left more than 32,000 dead in Gaza, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
“If the United States is serious about a ceasefire, then vote for the other project,” argued Chinese Ambassador Jun Zhang.
But his American counterpart has already expressed reservations, believing that this text could endanger diplomatic efforts on the ground with a view to a truce agreement in exchange for the release of the hostages. An argument used during the last American veto.
The Council, largely divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue for years, has only been able to adopt two resolutions on this issue since October 7, essentially humanitarian. Without much result: the entry of aid into Gaza remains largely insufficient and famine looms.
Several more political resolutions were rejected by American vetoes on one side, Russian and Chinese on the other, or by an insufficient number of votes.
President Emmanuel Macron, for his part, assured that France was working on another draft resolution.
According to a diplomatic source, this broader and longer-term text would include a consolidation of a possible ceasefire, the release of hostages, the role of the Palestinian Authority and the UN in Gaza after the war and the relaunch of a political process.