US/GAZA : After many attempts, the UN Security Council passed a resolution on 25 March calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution successfully passed after the US, which has blocked several previous UN ceasefire efforts using its veto, abstained from the vote.
The remaining 14 members of the council voted yes.
The resolution demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of captives, and “the urgent need to expand the flow” of aid into Gaza.
While the resolution demands the release of captives held by Hamas in Gaza, it does not make it a condition for the ceasefire.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the successful resolution incorporated elements requested by the US but Washington nevertheless did not vote yes because it “did not agree with everything.”
UN Security Council resolutions are legally binding, but Israel may nevertheless ignore them as the UN has limited means to enforce international law.
“The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated in response.
“This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable,” Guterres added.
The UN vote on Monday came as Israel prepares to launch an invasion of Rafah. Observers widely fear Israel will kill huge numbers of Palestinian civilians if the assault moves ahead.
Israel has already killed more than 31,000 Palestinians since the start of the war in October. The majority of those Israel has killed are women and children.
The US decision to abstain prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a scheduled trip to the US by two of his top advisers, two Israeli officials told CNN.
Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, and Netanyahu’s adviser, Ron Dermer, had been scheduled to travel to Washington on Monday night to discuss the Rafah assault.
The White House has been warning Netanyahu against a Rafah invasion, but President Joe Biden refused the idea of cutting off military aid to Israel if it indeed carries out the attack.
National Security spokesman John Kirby said the US was disappointed by Netanyahu’s decision to cancel the meeting.
“We’re very disappointed that they will not be coming to Washington, DC, to allow us to have a fulsome conversation with them about viable alternatives to going in on the ground in Rafah,” he said.
Before the UN vote, Mohammad Shtayyeh, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian caretaker government, expressed his hope that the resolution would pass and be implemented.
“I hope that Israel will be forced to implement the decision, as Israel’s criminal behavior as a rogue state above the law, and as a criminal state, makes whoever stands with it an accomplice in the crime,” he said.
“Is it reasonable for the US to use its veto four times since the start of the aggression, on October 7th, to prevent a resolution calling for a ceasefire? It is unreasonable and impermissible. Protection of Israel in the United Nations must be stopped because it is a [rogue] state,” he noted.
“We are working with the world to stop the aggression, and this is the basis of everything.”
Israel and Hamas have been negotiating for months over the issue of a ceasefire. Israel has demanded Hamas return all captives the resistance movement’s fighters took on 7 October in exchange only for a temporary ceasefire.
Hamas has demanded that Palestinian captives be released from Israeli prisons, that Israel withdraw its forces from Gaza and allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes, and that any ceasefire be permanent.
BY News Desk
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