luc, CNBC Indonesia
Thursday, 19/10/2023 06:05 WIB
Photo: UN Security Council emergency meeting Friday (25/2/2022) discussed Russia and Ukraine. (REUTERS/CARLO ALLEGRI)
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Wednesday (18/10/2023) calling for a “humanitarian pause” in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The reason is that the resolution does not recognize Israel’s right to defend itself.
Twelve of the council’s 15 members voted in favor of the resolution put forward by Brazil, which also condemned the “despicable terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas,” while Russia and Britain abstained.
The US was the only country to vote against, but as one of the body’s five permanent members, their vote counted as a veto.
“The United States is disappointed that this resolution does not mention Israel’s right to self-defense,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote, as quoted AFP.
The move comes as US President Joe Biden is on a solidarity visit in Tel Aviv to show strong US support, but also to urge Israel to allow aid into the besieged Gaza Strip amid warnings of an impending humanitarian disaster in the besieged territory.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan thanked the United States for vetoing the “terrible resolution,” and said “Washington continues to support us in our time of need.”
Speaking at the Security Council, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour warned that “killing more Palestinians will not make Israel safer.”
The resolution said the Council “unequivocally condemns all violence and hostility against civilians and all acts of terrorism.”
It said the agency “firmly rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas… and the hostage-taking.”
The text also “urges all parties to fully comply with their obligations under international law.
Human Rights Watch condemned the US veto, saying in a post on X that it prevented the Security Council “from acting against Israel and the Palestinians at a time of unprecedented genocide.”
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, which this month assumed the Security Council’s rotating presidency, also expressed regret over blocking the vote.
“Brazil considers it important for the international community to hold a ceasefire and resume the peace process,” the ministry said in a statement.
The vote came after the Security Council on Monday rejected a Russian resolution condemning escalating violence in the Middle East.
The resolution did not blame Hamas for its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, and it was rejected by its permanent members, namely the United States, Britain and France, as well as Japan.
The attacks on Israel left at least 1,400 people dead and Hamas militants took 199 people hostage. Israel has responded with airstrikes that have now claimed the lives of 3,478 people.
Aid to Gaza
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has agreed to open the Rafah crossing into Gaza to allow the first batch of humanitarian aid trucks to pass through.
“He agreed to… let up to 20 trucks through,” Biden told reporters after calling Sisi from Air Force One while returning from a visit to Israel.
The shipment likely won’t arrive Friday because the road around the intersection needs repairs.
The US leader said the UN would distribute the aid to other parties, and that a second round of aid was possible depending on “how it goes.”
But he warned: “If Hamas confiscates it, and does not let it escape… then this conflict will end.”
Biden was scheduled to meet Sisi on Wednesday at a four-nation summit in Jordan, but the meeting was canceled after a deadly attack on a Gaza hospital sparked outrage across the Arab world.
“The bottom line is he (Sisi) deserves credit because he has been very accommodating,” the US president added.
Watch the video below:
Gaza Logistics Emergency, Israeli Military Threatens Aid Distributors
(luc/luc)
2023-10-18 23:05:00
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