UN security council backs resolution calling for humanitarian pause in Gaza

[CharlieH]

 

Six weeks after the start of the war in Gaza, the UN security council has come together to back a resolution calling for “urgent extended humanitarian pauses for [a] sufficient number of days to allow aid access” to the embattled territory.

 

 

The vote late on Wednesday overcame an impasse which saw four unsuccessful attempts to adopt a resolution.

Malta drafted the resolution, which calls for humanitarian corridors across the Gaza Strip and urges the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

The US and the UK, two potentially veto-wielding powers, abstained on the resolution on the grounds that although they supported the emphasis on humanitarian relief, they could not give their full support because it contained no explicit criticism of Hamas. Russia also abstained on the grounds that it made no mention of an immediate ceasefire, its top imperative.

The resolution was passed with 12 votes in favour, and is the first UN resolution on the Israel-Palestine conflict since 2016.

The Israeli foreign ministry said it rejected the resolution, prompting the Palestinian representative, Riyad Mansour, to ask the UN security council members what they intended to do in the face of that defiance.

The US had last month blocked a similar if broader resolution, but appears to have been persuaded to shift to abstention by Arab states in the face of the scale of the civilian deaths and destruction in Gaza.

UN resolutions are in theory legally binding, but are widely ignored, and the political significance lies in the US willingness to back a call for an extended humanitarian ceasefire, putting some pressure on its close ally Israel. The American decision may reflect its frustration with Israel’s campaign, including the attack on al-Shifa hospital, the largest medical facility in Gaza.

 

FULL STORY

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Al Jazeera reports that the UN secretary general has just used his powers to convene a meeting of the security council to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

 

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