Washington ignored all the pressure exerted by the international community and used its veto to thwart draft resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza (French - archive)
Algeria called on the UN Security Council to meet the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, to vote on a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but the specter of an American veto awaits the Algerian draft resolution.
Diplomatic sources reported that the UN Security Council will vote next Tuesday on a draft resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons” in the Gaza Strip, at the request of Algeria.
Algeria launched consultations on the draft resolution following the International Court of Justice’s decision at the end of last January, in which it called on Israel to prevent any possible act of “genocide” in Gaza.
According to the latest version of the Algerian draft resolution; The Security Council calls for "an immediate ceasefire on humanitarian grounds, respected by all parties." The draft resolution also rejects the "forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population" and calls for an end to this "violation of international law."
Diplomatic sources at the United Nations said that Algeria requested that the Security Council vote next Tuesday on the text in its current form. But the American delegate to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said that Washington does not support taking action on this draft resolution, and if it is put to a vote in its current form, it will not be adopted.
In her statement in early February, Greenfield saw Algeria’s initiative to issue a new resolution as a “threat to undermine” the ongoing negotiations between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) with American-Egyptian-Qatari mediation. To establish a new truce that includes the release of Israeli detainees in Gaza, and Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel.
The American delegate added that the UN Security Council must "ensure that any action it takes in the coming days leads to increased pressure on Hamas, so that it accepts the proposal on the table."
On the Palestinian side, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said, “We believe that the time has come for the Security Council to adopt a resolution on a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons.”
It is noteworthy that the American administration ignored all the pressure exerted by the international community, and used its veto power to thwart draft resolutions calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in October, and then at the beginning of last December.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies