The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on Thursday on a resolution asking for a halt in the war to deliver more aid in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The council had initially been due to vote on Monday, then on Tuesday, then Wednesday.
The delay was “at the request of the United States to allow more time for more negotiations,” according to The New York Times.
Reuters news agency mentioned diplomats as saying that “during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield asked for a delay to allow for US diplomacy with Egypt.”
“She also raised concerns that the aid monitoring proposal could slow deliveries,” Reuters said.
🇺🇳🇺🇸🇵🇸‼️🚨 US continues to consistently veto every UNSC resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) December 20, 2023
On December 8, the United States vetoed a UNSC resolution backed by almost all other council members demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.
The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on December 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.
The veto came despite the decision by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to invoke Article 99 of the founding UN Charter.
Article 99 allows the Secretary-General to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security,” and had not been used for decades.
‘When Karim Khan won a 9-year term as prosecutor, he announced that he would prioritize the cases handed to the court by the UNSC, which the Palestine case was not due to the infamous power of the US veto.’ https://t.co/Ao9ezPFcHD
— Ramzy Baroud (@RamzyBaroud) December 13, 2023
In the letter appealing for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Guterres wrote: “I am writing under Article 99 of the United Nations Charter to bring to the attention of the Security Council a matter which, in my opinion, may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.”
“This is urgent. The civilian population must be spared from greater harm. With a humanitarian ceasefire, the means of survival can be restored, and humanitarian assistance can be delivered in a safe and timely manner across the Gaza Strip,” the letter continued.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 8,000 children and 6,200 women, and 52,600 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
