As divisions erupt, UNSC fails to approve US-led statement to condemn Hamas

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, October 9

Divisions among UN Security Council (UNSC) members over a US proposal to condemn Hamas for its killing and kidnapping of Israeli civilians failed to achieve unanimity after several countries led by Russia urged that any joint statement should take the broader picture for the frequent recurrence of conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians.

The UNSC held an emergency meeting behind closed doors on Sunday night but members including Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the UAE did not want to condemn only the Hamas. China, another influential member on the UNSC like Russia, also opposed the US proposal and wanted the UNSC to condemn “all civilian casualties”.

“There are a good number of countries that condemned the Hamas attacks. They’re obviously not all. You could probably figure out one of them without me saying anything,” said Western news agencies quoting US diplomat Robert Wood as saying after the 90-minute UNSC meeting closed without unanimity on a joint statement.

“My message was to stop the fighting immediately and to go to a ceasefire and to meaningful negotiations, which was told for decades (by multiple UNSC and UNGA resolutions). This is partly the result of unresolved issues,” said Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia.

The UAE, which had normalised relations with Israel in 2020 deal, said such conflicts would die down only after a two-state solution. China also said the fundamental way out of the conflict lies in a two-state solution including an independent state of Palestine.

Neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis were invited to the meeting. But speaking outside, Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour called on diplomats to focus on ending the Israeli occupation. “Regrettably, history for some media and politicians starts when Israelis are killed. This is a time to tell Israel it needs to change course, that there is a path to peace where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed,’’ he said.

Israel’s PR to the UN Gilad Erdan called Hamas a genocidal Islamist jihadist terror organisation “that is no different than ISIS, Al Qaeda”.

Indicating that there will be no move towards a ceasefire, Erdan said, “The UN has a very short memory when it comes to Israel. The terror that we endure quickly becomes a side note. But this time will not be the same.”

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