The United Nations Security Council on Monday demanded a ceasefire in Gaza during the Muslim , its first demand to halt fighting.
The United States abstained on the resolution, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during HamasB次元官网网址� Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. But the measure does not link that demand to the cease-fire during Ramadan, which ends April 9.
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported B次元官网网址渁n immediate and sustained cease-fireB次元官网网址� in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The United States warned that the resolution approved on Monday could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.
The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.
A statement issued Friday night by the Arab Group appealed to all 15 council members B次元官网网址渢o act with unity and urgencyB次元官网网址� and vote for the resolution B次元官网网址渢o halt the bloodshed, preserve human lives and avert further human suffering and destruction.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t is long past time for a ceasefire,B次元官网网址� the Arab Group said.
Because Ramadan ends next month, the ceasefire demand would last for just two weeks, though the draft says the pause in fighting should lead B次元官网网址渢o a permanent sustainable ceasefire.B次元官网网址�
Since the start of the war, the has adopted two resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, but none has called for a cease-fire.
More than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed during the fighting, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The agency does between civilians and combatants in its count, but says make up two-thirds of the dead.
Gaza also faces a dire humanitarian emergency, with a report from an international authority on hunger warning March 18 that and that escalation of the war could push half of the territoryB次元官网网址檚 2.3 million people to the brink of starvation.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council Friday that the resolutionB次元官网网址檚 text B次元官网网址渇ails to support sensitive diplomacy in the region. Worse, it could actually give Hamas an excuse to walk away from the deal on the table.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲e should not move forward with any resolution that jeopardizes the ongoing negotiations,B次元官网网址� she said, warning that if the diplomacy isnB次元官网网址檛 supported, B次元官网网址渨e may once again find this council deadlocked.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 truly hope that that does not come about,B次元官网网址� Thomas-Greenfield said.
The United States has vetoed three resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza, the most recent an on Feb. 20. That resolution was supported by 13 council members with one abstention, reflecting the overwhelming support for a cease-fire.
Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution in late October calling for pauses in the fighting to deliver aid, the protection of civilians and a halt to arming Hamas. They said it did not reflect global calls for a cease-fire.
They again vetoed the U.S. resolution Friday, calling it ambiguous and saying it was not the direct demand to end the fighting that much of the world seeks.
The vote became another showdown involving world powers that are locked in tense disputes elsewhere, with the United States taking criticism for not being tough enough against its ally Israel, even as tensions between the two countries rise.
A key issue was the unusual language in the U.S. draft. It said the Security Council B次元官网网址渄etermines the imperative of an immediate and sustained cease-fire.B次元官网网址� The phrasing was not a straightforward B次元官网网址渄emandB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址渃allB次元官网网址� to halt hostilities.
Before the vote, RussiaB次元官网网址檚 U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow supports an immediate cease-fire, but he criticized the diluted language, which he called philosophical wording that does not belong in a U.N. resolution.
He accused U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of B次元官网网址渄eliberately misleading the international communityB次元官网网址� about calling for a cease-fire.
B次元官网网址淭his was some kind of an empty rhetorical exercise,B次元官网网址� Nebenzia said. B次元官网网址淭he American product is exceedingly politicized, the sole purpose of which is to help to play to the voters, to throw them a bone in the form of some kind of a mention of a cease-fire in Gaza B次元官网网址� and to ensure the impunity of Israel, whose crimes in the draft are not even assessed.B次元官网网址�
ChinaB次元官网网址檚 U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, said the U.S. proposal set preconditions and fell far short of expectations of council members and the broader international community.
B次元官网网址淚f the U.S. was serious about a cease-fire, it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have vetoed time and again multiple council resolutions,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have taken such a detour and played a game of words while being ambiguous and evasive on critical issues.B次元官网网址�
was 11 members in favor and three against, including Algeria, the Arab representative on the council. There was one abstention, from Guyana.
After the vote, Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia and China of vetoing the resolution for B次元官网网址渄eeply cynical reasons,B次元官网网址� saying they could not bring themselves to condemn HamasB次元官网网址� terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, which the resolution would have done for the first time.
A second B次元官网网址減ettyB次元官网网址� reason, she said, is that B次元官网网址淩ussia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States, because it would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed.B次元官网网址� She accused Russia of again putting B次元官网网址減olitics over progressB次元官网网址� and having B次元官网网址渢he audacity and hypocrisy to throw stonesB次元官网网址� after launching an unwarranted invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The resolution did reflect a shift by the United States, which has found itself at odds with much of the world as even allies of Israel push for an unconditional end to fighting.
In previous resolutions, the U.S. has closely intertwined calls for a cease-fire with demands for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. This resolution, using wording thatB次元官网网址檚 open to interpretation, continued to link the two issues, but not as firmly.
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