For the first time, the UN security council has adopted a resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas and the release of all hostages as well as the need to send urgent aid to Gaza.
The Gaza ceasefire resolution was passed after the United States abstained from the vote rather than using its veto as it has repeatedly done previously. There were 14 in favor, with the U.S. abstaining.
The resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends in twRo weeks. ussian Ambassador and Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia said that his country voted in favor of the resolution, as it called for an immediate ceasefire “even if it is limited to the month of Ramadan”. He added that “Unfortunately, what happens after that ends remains unclear, since the word ‘lasting’ could be interpreted in various different ways.”
The three main demands of the resolution are: Ceasefire, return of hostages, and letting urgent aid into Gaza.
“The bloodbath has continued for far too long,” said Amar Bendjama, the ambassador from Algeria, the Arab bloc’s current Security Council member and a sponsor of the resolution. “Finally, the Security Council is shouldering its responsibility. ”The draft conveys a clear message to the Palestinian people that “The international community, in its entirety, did not abandon you,” he said.
In his message on social media platform X, Secretary-General António Guterres said that the long-awaited resolution must be implemented; the Council’s failure to so “would be unforgivable.” He said: “The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
This resolution must be implemented,” Guterres wrote on X.
Ceasefire comes after 6 months of Israel’s war and killing of thousands of Palestinians
The UN Ambassador of the Palestinian Territories, Riyad Mansour, said the decision was a vote “for life to prevail.”
It has taken six months for the UNSC to demand an immediate ceasefire, and “over 100,000 killed and maimed, two million displaced, and famine for this council to immediately demand an immediate ceasefire,” Riyad said.
“The Palestinians in Gaza have shouted, cried, cursed and prayed, defying the odds time and time again. Now they live with famine with many buried under the rubble of their own houses. Their ordeal must come to an end, and it must come to an immediate end, now”, he told ambassadors.
Zhang Jun, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of China to the UN, said that “For the lives that have already perished, the Council resolution today comes too late,” but for those still living in the Strip, the resolution represents “long awaited hope”.
Jun thanked the E-10 members for their efforts on the draft. Comparing it with the US-led resolution, he said “The current draft is unequivocal and correct in its direction, demanding an immediate ceasefire, while the previous one was evasive and ambiguous,” adding that the present resolution also reflected the general expectations of the international community and enjoyed the collective support of Arab nations.
U.S. reaction on abstaining from vote
The U.S., which had repeatedly blocked Security Council resolutions that put pressure on Israel, had again planned to veto but backdoor intensive diplomatic efforts put them in a position to abstain, according to CNN report.
Speaking after the vote, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield blamed Hamas for the delay in passing a ceasefire resolution. “We did not agree with everything with the resolution,” which she said was the reason why the US abstained.
“Certain key edits were ignored, including our request to add a condemnation of Hamas,” Thomas-Greenfield said. She stressed that the release of Israeli captives would lead to an increase in humanitarian aid supplies going into the besieged coastal enclave.
Israel cancels Washington visit after US allows UN Gaza ceasefire resolution to pass
The U.S. decision to abstain the Gaza ceasefire vote come as as tensions grow over a looming Israeli military operation in Gaza. The reaction exposed tensions between the United States and Israel and increasing U.S. frustration with its ally as civilian casualties mount and humanitarian crisis continue to escalate in Gaza.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has cancelled a scheduled Washington trip for top aides Ron Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi in response to the US’s decision not to use veto power in the UN security council resolution for a ceasefire without hostage release conditions, according to media reports.
Israel accuses the United States of undermining war efforts and hostage release attempts, calling it a departure from prior US stance in the security council.
Regrettably, the United States did not veto the new resolution, which calls for a ceasefire that is not contingent on the release of hostages.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) March 25, 2024
This constitutes a clear departure from the consistent US position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war.
The statement calls the decision “a clear retreat from the consistent US position in the Security Council since the beginning of the war,” and one that “gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to get a ceasefire without releasing our hostages,’’ the Times of Israel has reported.