The UN Security Council approved this Friday a resolution calling on both sides of the conflict between Israel and Hamas to facilitate the passage of humanitarian aid in the region.
The text does not refer to an immediate ceasefire, an intention that the United States of America has already vetoed on another occasion, but points out that “the conditions must be created” for it.
The resolution, introduced by the United Arab Emirates, also states that all means must be used to “allow humanitarian aid into Gaza” and had to be rewritten several times throughout the week due to objections from the United States. .
Washington abstained, as did Russia, allowing the resolution that does not call for an immediate ceasefire to pass with 13 votes.
The text asks the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, to appoint a special coordinator to supervise and verify the sending of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave, the target of constant bombings since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. on October 7.
“We know that it is not a perfect text, we know that only a ceasefire will put an end to the suffering,” commented the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the UN, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, quoted by AFP.
But “if we do not take drastic measures, there will be famine in Gaza,” and this text “responds with actions to the desperate humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people,” the diplomat added before the vote at the UN headquarters in New York. .
The reference to an “urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities”, present in the first text, disappeared, as did the less direct request, in the following version, for an “urgent suspension of hostilities”.
“We have worked hard and diligently this week with the United Arab Emirates, with others and with Egypt, to reach a resolution that we can support,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Thursday night.
“The draft resolution has not been weakened. The draft resolution is very strong and has the full support of the Arab bloc,” he said, adding that “humanitarian aid will be delivered to those who need it.”
The Security Council has been harshly criticized for its inaction since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, while the UN has warned in recent days of the “unprecedented” food insecurity of Gazans, now threatened by the famine.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Security Council has only managed to break its silence once: the November 15 resolution called for “humanitarian pauses.” In two months it rejected five other texts, two of which were vetoed by the United States, including the last one, on December 8.
At that time, despite pressure from UN Secretary General António Guterres, the United States blocked the call for a “humanitarian ceasefire”, also considered unacceptable by Israel.
Faced with the Council’s blockade, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution on December 12 that demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but which is not legally binding.
Source: TSF
