United Nations Safety Council. Reuters
Quite a few members of the UN Safety Council denounced Hamas on Sunday over its huge assault on Israel however the USA regretted a scarcity of unanimity.
At an emergency session, the USA urged sturdy condemnation of the Palestinian Islamists, who rule the blockaded Gaza Strip and launched a shock assault and kidnapping operation on Saturday.
“There are a good number of countries that condemned the Hamas attacks. They’re obviously not all,” senior US diplomat Robert Wooden advised reporters after the closed-door session.
“You could probably figure out one of them without me saying anything,” stated Wooden, in a transparent allusion to Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated sharply since its invasion of Ukraine.
Diplomats stated the Safety Council didn’t contemplate any joint assertion, not to mention a binding decision, with members led by Russia hoping for a broader focus than condemning Hamas.
“My message was to stop the fighting immediately and to go to a ceasefire and to meaningful negotiations, which was told for decades” by the Safety Council, stated Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations.
“This is partly the result of unresolved issues,” he stated.
China, usually Russia’s ally on the Safety Council, stated it could assist a joint assertion.
“It’s abnormal that the Security Council doesn’t say anything,” stated Ambassador Zhang Jun, who earlier promised Chinese language assist for a condemnation of “all attacks against civilians.”
Forward of the session, Israel’s ambassador, Gilad Erdan, confirmed graphic footage of Israeli civilians being taken captive by Hamas.
“These are war crimes — blatant, documented war crimes,” Erdan advised reporters outdoors of the Safety Council.
“This unimaginable — unimaginable — atrocity must be condemned,” he stated of the Safety Council.
“Israel must be given steadfast support to defend ourselves — to defend the free world.”
The Palestinian ambassador — who represents the West Financial institution-centered Palestinian Authority and never rival Hamas — known as on the Safety Council to deal with ending Israeli occupation.
“Regrettably, history for some media and politicians starts when Israelis are killed,” stated the envoy, Riyad Mansour.
“This is not a time to let Israel double-down on its terrible choices. 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.”
The Palestinian Authority and Israel weren’t a part of the closed-door assembly, as neither are at present members on the Safety Council.
The consultant of the United Arab Emirates — which normalized relations with Israel as a part of a landmark 2020 deal — anticipated extra Safety Council conferences on the disaster.
“I think everyone understands that today the situation is one of grave concern,” stated the UAE ambassador, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh.
“Many members of the Council believe that a political horizon leading to a two-state solution is the only way to finally solve this conflict,” she stated.