(United Nations) The UN Security Council, deeply divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, postponed until Tuesday an expected vote on a new draft resolution aimed at an interruption of hostilities in Gaza to allow access to the ‘humanitarian aid.
The United Arab Emirates, behind the new text, requested the postponement of the vote scheduled for Monday at 5 p.m. to allow complicated negotiations to continue, and it should be rescheduled for Tuesday, diplomatic sources said.
On December 8, despite unprecedented pressure from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the United States vetoed in the Council the adoption of a resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip where the Israeli army continues its deadly strikes in retaliation for the unprecedented bloody attack by Hamas on October 7.
Last week, the General Assembly adopted this same resolution, but in a non-binding manner, by 153 votes for, 10 against and 23 abstentions, out of 193 member states.
With this overwhelming support, Arab countries announced a new attempt at the Security Council, with an uncertain outcome.
A draft text prepared by the United Arab Emirates, obtained by AFP on Sunday, calls for “an urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”
But according to diplomatic sources, a new modified text is being drafted on Monday.
Sunday’s draft specifically called for parties to the conflict to facilitate the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip, “by land, sea and air.”
“No more suffering”
Like the precedent and the one adopted by the General Assembly, the text does not name Hamas, an absence systematically castigated by the United States and Israel. On the other hand, he condemns “all indiscriminate attacks against civilians”, “all acts of terrorism”, and calls for the release of the hostages, held by Hamas since October 7.
Since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement, the Council has been under fire from criticism, having only managed to adopt a text calling for “humanitarian pauses” in mid-November. Five other draft resolutions were rejected, including two due to US vetoes.
President Joe Biden has since said that Israel risks losing the support of the international community due to its “indiscriminate” bombing of the Gaza Strip.
“The United States should back up these words by acting at the Security Council to put pressure on Israel and Palestinian armed groups to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians,” commented Louis Charbonneau of Human Rights Watch, calling on Americans “not to use the veto to block resolutions aimed at ending mass atrocities.”
Asked about the possibility of an American abstention in the Council, to allow the text to be adopted, the spokesperson for the American Department of State Matthew Miller said on Monday that he did not want to “speculate”.
“We are in the middle of the negotiation process,” he said.
Security Council resolutions are binding, but regularly ignored by the countries concerned.
“A ceasefire now”
After the October 7 attack which, according to Israeli authorities, left around 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas, shelling Palestinian territory, besieging it and carrying out a vast ground operation. since October 27.
The Hamas Ministry of Health announced Monday that Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip had killed 19,453 people since the start of the war, mostly women, children and adolescents.
“Faced with such atrocities, there is only one moral position, only one defensible position: a ceasefire now,” Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour pleaded on Friday from the podium of the general Assembly.
“Calling for a ceasefire now, while (the hostages) are still detained, is the most immoral thing,” replied his Israeli counterpart Gilad Erdan.