The UN Security Council has rejected a Russian resolution calling for a ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hamas. Delegates refused to support a draft document that did not condemn Hamas after a surprise attack on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people.
The council met as Israel prepares for a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, after artillery and airstrikes killed at least 2,750 Palestinians. Only four countries voted with Russia in favor of the proposed draft, and four others, including the US, voted against it, while six abstained.
Another draft proposed by Brazil, which unequivocally accuses Hamas, appeared to have wider support and is expected to be voted on tonight, diplomats said. Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasiliy Nebenzja, said that despite the failure, the resolution encouraged the council to take action.
“It contributed to the initiation of an essential discussion in the Security Council on that topic. Without our encouragement, everything would have been limited to empty discussions,” the ambassador said, according to Beta news agency.
The UK, which joined the US in voting against the Russian proposal, criticized Moscow for the lack of consultation and efforts to reach a consensus. “We cannot support a resolution that fails to condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas,” said British ambassador Barbara Woodward.
Explaining the decision to vote against, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield criticized Russia for not mentioning Hamas in the document and assessed that it provides cover to a terrorist group that “brutalizes innocent civilians”. She said it was hypocritical. The US ambassador added that she agrees that the council should take action, but the right one.
She assessed that Hamas caused the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and that it cannot be allowed to shift the blame to Israel and justify Hamas for “decades of cruelty”. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, asked whether the council would embrace the struggle for civilization or encourage “genocide by jihadists who aim to kill all infidels.”
Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said it was the moral duty of the UN Security Council to try to curb Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which is killing 12 people every hour. The UN aid agency for Palestine refugees has warned that the Gaza Strip is facing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster if supplies of water and vital goods are not restored, Beta writes.
