A strange, almost paranormal alliance allowed the United Nations (UN) Security Council to approve for the first time, after four failed attempts, a resolution calling for “urgent and prolonged humanitarian pauses and corridors through the Gaza Strip” in the war between Israel and Hamas. It is not a ceasefire, but it is progress, the diplomats assessed.
The final version of the draft established a lexical change: where “demand” was said, “call” was written to make it more accessible. The statement was also modified to “demand the immediate and unconditional release of all those kidnapped by Hamas and other groups.” Here the term “call” was imposed again.
Now it remains to clear up the doubt of how this measure is applied, who is in charge of doing it and the possible sanctions for non-compliance. Israel rejected the initiative. Although it is a binding law, experts pointed out that there are other resolutions that Israel does not comply with, although it will be an element of pressure.
Gilad Erdan, Israeli ambassador, invited to the Council session, expressed his displeasure and repudiation of a measure that “is not connected to reality.” After insisting that his country “already complies with international law”, unlike the terrorists, and that they have allowed the entry of 1,400 trucks, he insisted that “Israel has no other solution than to annihilate the capacity of Hamas and release the hostages “. Previously, the representative of Palestine, Ryad Mansour, regretted that the UN is unable to approve a ceasefire. “Gaza is bloodied,” he stressed before accepting that “finally” there is a humanitarian resolution, although he considered that Israel does not seem willing to comply with it.
After a verbal Russian amendment calling for the phrase “leading to the immediate cessation of hostilities” to be included in the text was rejected, representatives from Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom , three of the five countries with the right to veto, opted to abstain, so they chose not to block the initiative with their refusal.
The other twelve members, including the other two veto-wielding countries, China and France, decided to vote in favor of this resolution, sponsored by Malta. Its ambassador, Vanessa Frazier, focused the defense of the draft focusing on the mortality and suffering of minors. She recalled a recent statement by the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, who defined this conflict as “a children’s cemetery.”
After six weeks of silence, “this Security Council has not produced any results so far and seems to be indifferent to the suffering,” the Malta envoy insisted. And she recalled that the release of the children who have become hostages is also requested. She also demands that there be no displacement of the Palestinian population.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador, justified her abstention because this resolution does not condemn the terrorist act of Hamas. “What prevents them from condemning a terrorist group that has executed children, burned families, that only seeks to kill Jews?” she asked.
Despite this “disappointment,” Thomas-Greenfield indicated that the US agrees with many points and appreciated that for the first time the name of Hamas appears and that the release of the hostages is supported. After insisting that Israel has the obligation to protect the lives of civilians, he indicated that this was an added factor for this country, because Hamas does not care about any tragedy.
“This resolution in itself does not save lives and we need support for the heroic efforts of the UN and other humanitarian workers in Gaza and we need to work with partners and countries in the region to ensure the release of the hostages,” he insisted.
For his part, Russian ambassador Vasili Nebenzia acknowledged that “we could not not react to what the countries of the region are asking for regarding humanitarian aid.” He specified, however, that they had to “turn a blind eye” because the immediate cessation of the war was not called for. “Any humanitarian aid requires a ceasefire or it will not be achieved,” he stressed.
Once the session concluded, the Maltese ambassador and promoter pointed out that this resolution is still “a drop in the ocean.” In this sense, humanitarian organizations considered that this initiative “must be an important first step” that all those involved must comply with under the power of the nations that make up the United Nations.
