The UN Security Council on Monday evening rejected, in a vote, a draft resolution proposed by Russia which would have called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, ravaged by nearly ten days fighting between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.
This draft resolution received five votes in favor (China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russia and United Arab Emirates) and four against (France, Japan, United Kingdom and United States), with six abstentions (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana , Malta and Switzerland).
For the Council to adopt a resolution, the proposal must receive at least nine votes in favor, without any of its five permanent members (China, United States, France, United Kingdom and Russia) vetoing it.
The draft text called for a humanitarian ceasefire, the release of all hostages, access to aid and the safe evacuation of civilians.
A text that did not mention Hamas
The text condemned violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism, but did not name Hamas, which killed 1,300 people in Israel on October 7 during its surprise attack.
“Today, the whole world was eagerly waiting for the Security Council to take action to stop the bloodshed, but the delegations of Western countries essentially trampled on these expectations,” said the Russian Ambassador to of the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, after the vote.
“By failing to condemn Hamas, Russia is covering up for a terrorist group that brutalizes innocent civilians. It’s scandalous. This is hypocritical and indefensible,” said US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
The vote on a rival text presented by Brazil was postponed until Tuesday to give more time to negotiate. The draft text condemns “the heinous terrorist attacks of Hamas”.
This article is originally published on news.un.org
