- US opposes UN Gaza resolution
- Resolution seeks ceasefire, hostage release
- Concerns over Rafah ground invasion
The United States has declared its intention to block an additional United Nations resolution that is being introduced imminently, which calls for an end to the hostilities between Israel and Gaza.
A new resolution, submitted by Algeria for a vote on Tuesday at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), demands the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” and an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls Gaza.
“Should it be put to a vote as written, it will not be adopted,” stated Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, on Saturday.
As Qatar and Egypt also mediate negotiations between Israel and Hamas, the envoy stated that the resolution might “run counter” to the objectives that the United States believes can be achieved diplomatically.
The proposition for a weeks-long ceasefire, during which Israeli captives held in Gaza may be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails and additional humanitarian aid may be allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip, has been under discussion for several weeks.
Diplomatic Tensions Escalate Amid UN Debate
The negotiations appeared to be set back a week ago when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to Hamas’s demands as “ludicrous” and Qatar, the mediator, stated that the progress had been unsatisfactory.
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Thomas-Greenfield stated, “The Council is obligated to ensure that any action we take in the coming days increases the pressure on Hamas to accept the proposal on the table.”
On dozens of occasions, the United States has used its veto power to support Israel at the Security Council. Since the start of hostilities on October 7, it has done so multiple times; most recently, in early December, it vetoed a ceasefire resolution proposed by the United Arab Emirates.
Human rights organizations and others harshly criticized a late December UNSC resolution, which was deemed a “watered-down” version of the original proposal.
Amid mounting concerns that Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that has housed approximately 1.4 million Palestinians displaced from other regions of the territory since October, Algeria has proposed a vote on a new resolution. The United Nations and aid organizations have condemned a potential ground assault on Rafah as calamitous.
