U.N. Security Council votes on new Gaza ceasefire call
The United Nations Security Council is set to cast a vote on a new resolution that demands an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities” in Gaza on Monday. This comes as Washington’s frustration with Israel grows.
The vote comes a few days after the United States blocked an earlier Security Council resolution that sought a “humanitarian ceasefire” in the battered Palestinian territory, where Israel is still carrying out lethal strikes in response to Hamas’s historic attack on October 7.
The new draft, prepared by the United Arab Emirates and reviewed by AFP, urges for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip.”
It also endorses the idea of a two-state resolution in the area and emphasises the necessity of merging the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the governance of the Palestinian Authority.
The Security Council has been subjected to intense global criticism as it has only been able to adopt a single resolution on Gaza since the war began.
This resolution, passed by the 15-member body, called for “humanitarian pauses.” However, five other proposed resolutions were dismissed, including two thanks to American vetoes.
As per diplomatic sources, negotiations on the new draft persisted on Sunday with the aim of preventing further deadlock. This comes after U.S. President Joe Biden cautioned that Israel could lose global backing due to its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza.
