Israel-Hamas war: at the UN, the United States blocks the call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza

2023-12-09 02:54:39

The United States on Friday vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza, despite pressure from the secretary-general who denounced the “collective punishment” inflicted on the Palestinians.

The draft resolution, which received 13 votes in favor, one against (United States) and one abstention (United Kingdom), was prepared by the United Arab Emirates after Antonio Guterres’ unprecedented invocation of Article 99 on Wednesday. of the United Nations Charter allowing the Secretary General to draw the attention of the Council to a matter which “could endanger the maintenance of international peace and security”.

But the Americans, allies of Israel who on Friday vetoed for the 35th time since 1970 a resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian issue (out of 39 in total), repeated their hostility to a ceasefire on Friday.

“We do not support a resolution that calls for an unsustainable ceasefire that will simply plant the seeds of the next war,” justified Deputy American Ambassador Robert Wood, also denouncing the “moral failure” of the absence in the text condemning the Hamas attacks of October 7.

100 countries signatories to the call

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan estimated that “the real path to peace is only to support Israel’s mission, absolutely not a call for a ceasefire”.

The draft resolution, supported by nearly 100 countries, demanded “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” the release of hostages and humanitarian access.

“As the crisis in Gaza worsens and threatens to spread, it (the Council) is not up to the fundamental mission entrusted to it by the Charter,” lamented French Ambassador Nicolas of River. A disappointment shared by many members of the Council.

“Our American colleagues have before our eyes condemned to death thousands or even tens of thousands of Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including women and children,” blasted Russian deputy ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy.

Risk of collapse of public order in Gaza

Antonio Guterres had on Friday morning justified his invocation of article 99 by once again emphasizing the risk of “total collapse of public order” in the Gaza Strip. “I condemn without reservation” the Hamas attacks of October 7, but “the violence perpetrated by Hamas can in no way justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” he declared.

“If Hamas’s indiscriminate firing of rockets towards Israel and the use of civilians as human shields are violations of the laws of war, such behavior does not absolve Israel of its own violations,” insisted Antonio Guterres.

After the unprecedented attack against Israel carried out on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which according to the Israeli authorities left around 1,200 dead, mainly civilians, Israel imposed a “complete siege” and massively shelled the Gaza Strip, reducing large areas to ruins.

Food, water, fuel and medicine are only arriving in trickles, while around 1.9 million people, or 85% of the population, have had to leave their homes according to the UN since the start of hostilities. , which left more than 17,000 dead according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, this is the fifth draft resolution rejected by the Council, which has been largely divided for years on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Four projects had already been rejected in the weeks following October 7, due to lack of sufficient votes, or due to Russian, Chinese or American vetoes. The Council finally broke its silence in mid-November, succeeding in adopting a resolution that called for “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Gaza Strip, not a “ceasefire” or even a “truce.”