Ten days after an American veto, the UN Security Council could decide on Monday on a new text calling for an “urgent and permanent cessation of hostilities” in Gaza, at a time when Washington is showing signs of impatience with its Israeli ally.
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The vote, originally scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. GMT) on Monday, has been officially postponed to 5:00 p.m. (10:00 p.m. GMT), but could still be postponed, possibly to Tuesday, around the To allow negotiations to continue and avoid a new impasse for the council, diplomatic sources told AFP on Monday.
On December 8, despite unprecedented pressure from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the United States in the Council blocked the adoption of a resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army continues its deadly attacks in retaliation for the unprecedented bloody Hamas- October 7 attack.
Last week, the General Assembly adopted the same non-binding decision with 153 votes in favour, 10 against and 23 abstentions from 193 Member States.
With this overwhelming support, the Arab countries announced a new attempt in the Security Council, with an uncertain outcome.
The new draft text prepared by the United Arab Emirates and seen by AFP calls for “an urgent and permanent cessation of hostilities to allow unhindered humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.”
In particular, it demands that the parties to the conflict facilitate the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip “by land, sea and air.”
The draft also reiterates its support for the two-state solution and “underscores the importance of uniting the Gaza Strip and the West Bank under the umbrella of the Palestinian Authority.”
“No more suffering”
Like the previous text and the one adopted by the General Assembly, this text does not mention Hamas by name, an absence that is systematically castigated by the United States and Israel. On the other hand, he condemns “all indiscriminate attacks on civilians”, “all acts of terrorism” and calls for the release of the hostages.
The council has been under fire since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and was only able to adopt a text calling for “humanitarian pauses” in mid-November. Five other draft resolutions were rejected, two of them due to a US veto.
President Joe Biden has since declared that Israel is at risk of losing the support of the international community because of its “indiscriminate” bombing of the Gaza Strip.
“The United States should back up these words by pressuring Israel and Palestinian armed groups in the Security Council to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians,” commented Louis Charbonneau of Human Rights Watch.
“Any use of the veto would mean more deaths, more starvation, more suffering,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard added on Monday, urging Washington to support the text.
Security Council resolutions are binding, but are regularly ignored by the countries concerned.
After the Oct. 7 attack, which Israeli authorities said killed around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, Israel vowed to “destroy Hamas,” shelling and besieging Palestinian territory and conducting a major operation. On Earth since October 27th.
Hamas' health ministry said on Monday that Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip had killed 19,453 people since the war began.
“In the face of such atrocities, there is only one moral position, only one defensible position: an immediate ceasefire,” Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour pleaded Friday from the General Assembly podium.
“Calling for a ceasefire now while (the hostages) are still detained is the most immoral thing,” replied his Israeli counterpart Gilad Erdan.