The draft resolution calls for the reversal of the evacuation of the civilian population from the north of the Gaza Strip and focuses on humanitarian aid. The US voted against, hoping for diplomatic efforts on the ground.
A Brazilian draft resolution on the crisis in the Middle East focusing on humanitarian aid failed in the UN Security Council. The United States vetoed the text before the most powerful body of the United Nations, in New York, on Wednesday. 12 of the 15 council members had already approved the document, while Russia and China abstained.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday that she understands why Brazil went ahead with the vote, but it remains to be seen what effect diplomatic efforts will have on the ground. She referred to visits by US President Joe Biden and UN Secretary-General António Guterres to the region. Furthermore, the United States is “disappointed that this resolution does not mention Israel’s self-defense rights.”
The text from Brazil, which currently presides over the UN Security Council, states, among other things, that Israel must reverse its call for the evacuation of the civilian population from the north of the Gaza Strip. However, the country was not directly mentioned in this context.
The newspaper followed statements from the UN, which described the evacuation of more than a million people in the densely populated coastal area as impossible and warned of a humanitarian disaster. The text also called for efforts to end the fighting and emphasized the relevance of the two-state solution.
Emphasis on international law
The project condemned the Hamas attack on Israel as a “heinous attack” and said that the Israelis taken hostage should be released immediately. It was emphasized that both parties to the conflict must comply with international law and that humanitarian aid deliveries and pauses in fighting must be permitted. Local buildings and United Nations institutions also need to be protected.
There is no explicit mention of the attack on the Al-Ahli Arab clinic on Tuesday night, which Israel blames on a misdirected rocket by the Islamic Jihad group. The text also does not contain a direct demand for a ceasefire. The corresponding Russian amendment proposals were previously rejected by the Council. Until recently, it was not particularly clear how the veto powers of the UN, US, Russia and China would behave.
Resolution would have increased pressure on Israel
The acceptance of the Brazilian project in the already divided Security Council was considered questionable from the beginning. In the past, the US has repeatedly protected its ally Israel from unwanted resolutions with its right of veto. An acceptance requires at least nine yes votes from the 15 members, and there can be no veto. In addition to the USA, Russia and China, France and Great Britain have veto rights.
A resolution adopted by the Security Council would have increased pressure on Israel, which appears to be preparing for a large-scale ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. The UN body’s resolutions are binding under international law.
On Monday, a Russian draft resolution had no longer achieved the necessary majority in the Council. The newspaper called, among other things, for a “humanitarian ceasefire” and the release of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. However, there was no direct condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attack.