11/20/2024–|Last updated: 11/20/202407:13 PM (Mecca time)
Today, Wednesday, the UN Security Council will vote on a draft resolution calling for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in addition to demanding the release of all prisoners.
The project – which was drafted by the ten non-permanent members of the Council – aims to pressure Israel to stop the war, but the American position may complicate the chances of its passage, according to diplomats.
The Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, criticized the draft resolution and described it as “flawed,” stressing that Israel “will not stop fighting until it returns all the kidnapped.”
For his part, Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood pointed out the necessity of a connection between the ceasefire and the release of prisoners, stressing that this position has been consistent since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Implementation difficulties
The vote coincides with the continuing worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as the project calls for the safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian aid, and calls for an end to attempts to starve the Palestinians, amid accusations that Israel is using the blockade as a means of pressure.
However, the text lacks any references to Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, which grants the Council powers to enforce its decisions through sanctions or other measures.
In turn, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, described the situation in Gaza as “a humanitarian catastrophe that will haunt the world for generations.”
Mansour urged the Council to adopt a strict and binding resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The American position on the draft resolution remains ambiguous, amid fears that Washington will use its veto power to prevent its passage, which may reflect the continued international division over the genocidal war in Gaza.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip, causing the death and injury of more than 144,000 Palestinians – most of them children and women – and the displacement of the majority of the Gaza Strip’s population of 2.2 million people.
