UNSC rejects Russian-drafted resolution on Israel-Hamas war
The resolution strongly condemned all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism but made no mention of Hamas.
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council has rejected a draft resolution proposed by Russia that called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza but made no mention of Hamas’ attack on Israel, while a vote on a rival Brazilian text will be held on Tuesday.
The 15-nation Council met on Monday evening to vote on the Russian-led draft resolution, the first such text that was considered by the powerful UN body, amid an escalating war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The one-page draft resolution failed to garner enough votes and was not adopted by the Council, which is expected to meet again on Tuesday to vote on a rival draft resolution circulated by Brazil, the Council President for the month of October.
The draft text that called for an immediate, durable and fully respected humanitarian ceasefire”, the release of all hostages, aid access and safe evacuation of civilians received five votes in favour from China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russia, and the UAE.
France, Japan, the UK, and the US voted against it, while Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland abstained from voting.
For a resolution to be adopted in the Council, it must receive at least 9 votes in favour, with none of its five permanent members opposing or casting a veto.
The resolution strongly condemned all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism but made no mention of Hamas, which carried out an unprecedented assault in Isreal on October 7 that killed 1,300 people and injured over 4,000.
Retaliatory strikes from Israel have left about 2,778 Palestinians dead and injured over 9,000 in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, home to about 2.3 million people.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, in her explanation of the vote, said that Russia’s resolution was put forward without any consultations and makes no mention of Hamas.
She said that Washington could not support Moscow’s resolution, which, in ignoring Hamas’ terrorism, dishonours victims.
Thomas-Greenfield described Hamas’ audacious attack on Israel as the “worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said before the vote that the draft resolution was a purely humanitarian text”.
“We shall not have any understanding if someone decides to not support it for political or egoistic geopolitical reasons,” Nebenzia said.
Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas after it carried out a wave of attacks inside Israel on October 7.
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