UNSC fails to adopt resolution on Israel-Palestine conflict after veto by US
United Nations,(PTI): The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed to adopt a Brazil-led draft resolution that would have called for humanitarian pauses in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict to allow full access for aid to the Gaza strip after the US vetoed the text.
The US, a permanent member of the UNSC and a close ally of Israel, said it is disappointed the resolution makes no mention of Israel's rights of self-defence.
The 15-nation Council met to vote on the draft resolution that was proposed by Council President Brazil.
While 12 Council members voted in favour of the resolution, Russia and Britain abstained. The resolution could not be adopted because of a veto cast by the US.
This was the second time in two days that the Council failed to adopt a resolution on the situation in the Middle East.
On Monday, the Security Council rejected a draft resolution proposed by Russia on the situation in Gaza that would have called for a humanitarian ceasefire but did not mention the militant group Hamas which launched an audacious attack against Israel on October 7.
The Brazil-led resolution would have firmly condemned all violence and hostilities against civilians and all acts of terrorism, and unequivocally rejected and condemned the heinous terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7.
The resolution would have also called for humanitarian pauses to allow full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for United Nations humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, and encouraged the establishment of humanitarian corridors and other initiatives for the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians.
It would have also called for the rescission of the order by Israel for civilians and UN staff to evacuate all areas in Gaza north of the Wadi Gaza and relocate in the southern part of the strip.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, in her explanation of the vote, said that the Council is meeting at a time when President Joe Biden is in Israel.
His trip is a "clear demonstration of the fact that the United States is actively engaging at the highest levels: to secure the release of hostages; to prevent the conflict from spreading; to stress the need to protect civilian lives; to address the humanitarian crisis facing Palestinians in Gaza; and to demonstrate to the Israeli people that the United States stands with them in their time of sorrow and need."
She said the US is "disappointed" that the Brazil-led resolution made no mention of Israel's rights of self-defence.
"Like every nation in the world, Israel has the inherent right of self-defence, as reflected in Article 51 of the UN Charter. Following previous terrorist attacks by groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS, this Council reaffirmed that right. This text should have done the same," she said.
She asserted that when the US talks about the protection of civilians, it means all civilians.
She said the US is "horrified and saddened" by Tuesday's "explosion" at the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds. "We mourn this tragic, tragic loss of life.
On the humanitarian front, we're working with Israel, its neighbours, the United Nations and other partners to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza," she said.
"Let's be clear: Hamas' own actions have brought this on this severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. And Hamas has caused so much needless suffering, death, and destruction. Every Member State should condemn Hamas' terrorism and cruelty. And every Member State should call on Hamas to cease its endless barrage of rockets against Israel. This is not complicated. It's not controversial. This is the bare minimum," she said.
The US envoy added that Washington is on the ground doing the hard work of diplomacy and while the US recognises Brazil's desire to move the text forward, "we believe we need to let that diplomacy play out", especially when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and regional actors are "engaged in intensive dialogue on the very issues we are deliberating on today."
Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said the Council has witnessed once again the "hypocrisy and the double standards" of the US and Washington really did not want that any solution should be arrived at in the Council.
Following the vote, Brazil's Permanent Representative at the UN S rgio Fran a Danese voiced deep regret over the failure of the Council to act and adopt the resolution to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
He said the Security Council's paralysis in the face of a humanitarian catastrophe is not in the interest of the international community.
"Sadly, very sadly, the Council was yet again unable to adopt a resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Again, silence and inaction prevailed, to no one's true long-term interest. While we deeply regret that collective action is made impossible in the Security Council, we do hope that efforts by other actors will yield positive results.
They must be prompt, effective and substantial," the Brazilian envoy said, adding that hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza cannot wait any longer. "Actually they have waited for far too long, to no avail."
UK's Permanent Representative Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the draft resolution needed to be clearer on Israel's inherent right to self-defence in line with the UN Charter after Hamas' attacks killed over 1400 people and took almost 200 people hostage.
"The draft resolution also ignored the fact that Hamas is using innocent Palestinian civilians as human shields. They have embedded themselves in civilian communities and made the Palestinian people their victims too. For these reasons, the United Kingdom abstained on this resolution," Woodward said.
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Watch criticised the move by the US.
Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, said once again, the US cynically used their veto to prevent the UN Security Council from acting on
Israel and Palestine at a time of unprecedented carnage.
"In so doing, they blocked the very demands they so often insist upon in other contexts: all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and ensure that vital humanitarian aid and essential services reach people in need. They also blocked condemnation of the Hamas-led October 7 attack and demand for the release of the hostages. In light of the council's deadlock, UN member countries should ask the General Assembly to take urgent action to protect civilians and prevent large-scale atrocities and further loss of life," Charbonneau said.
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
