The United Nations Security Council has once again postponed a vote on a much-delayed resolution on the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip to Friday despite the United States signalling it might support the latest draft after it vetoed the one on December 9, reported Reuters. This is the fourth time that the crucial vote on ceasefire and humanitarian aid in the enclave has been pushed back amid efforts to get the US on board for the resolution brought by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The US vetoed the Dec 9 resolution that called for a ceasefire but did not condemn Hamas’ Oct 7 massacres in Israel in which thousands of terrorists killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages.
According to the Times of Israel, sources have said that one of the key sticking points for the new vote is a proposal for the UN to create a monitoring mechanism for aid going into the Gaza Strip. This demand was reportedly dropped in the latest draft which calls for “urgent steps to immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and also for creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
The new draft also demands all sides “allow and facilitate the use of all… routes to and throughout the entire Gaza Strip, including border crossings… for the provision of humanitarian assistance” and calls for the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” reported the Times of Israel.
This comes as the US, which has opposed a number of proposals during the resolution’s drafting this week, says it is ready to support the draft in its current form.
“We have worked hard and diligently over the course of the past week with the Emiratis, with others, with Egypt, to come up with a resolution that we can support. And we do have that resolution now. We’re ready to vote on it,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel.
“It’s a resolution that will bring humanitarian assistance to those in need. It will support the priority that Egypt has in ensuring that we put a mechanism on the ground that will support humanitarian assistance, and we’re ready to move forward,” she said.
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