UN Approves Resolution On Aid To Gaza
The U.N. Security Council adopted a watered-down resolution Friday calling for immediately speeding aid deliveries to hungry and desperate civilians in Gaza but without the original plea for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas.
The long-delayed vote in the 15-member council was 13-0 with the United States and Russia abstaining. The US’ abstention meant that the resolution passed. “It was the Christmas miracle we were all hoping for,” said United Arab Emirates Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, who sponsored the resolution. Nusseibeh said it would send a signal to the people in Gaza that the Security Council was working to alleviate their suffering.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council that the vote bolsters efforts “to alleviate this humanitarian crisis, to get life-saving assistance into Gaza and to get hostages out of Gaza, to push for the protection of innocent civilians and humanitarian workers, and to work towards a lasting peace.”
The vote came after the United States vetoed a Russian amendment that would have restored the call to immediately suspend hostilities. That vote was 10 countries in favor, the U.S. against and four abstentions. The resolution calls for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access.”
The resolution’s passage came after the US vetoed a previous UN resolution that called for a ceasefire. US representatives pointed out that such a resolution did not condemn Hamas, and would be used by Hamas to strengthen and regroup.
There had been multiple delays in this vote over the week, with the US working on an acceptable wording for the resolution. In the end, the US was able to prevent a resolution that called for a ceasefire, which would have benefitted Hamas.
It is unclear how much immediate impact this aid resolution will have, but it is a symbolic gesture that work is being done to help the Palestinian civilians caught in the horrendous situation Hamas created.