New York - Gaza: Europe and the Arabs
The UN Security Council adopted Resolution No. 2712, which calls for the establishment of urgent truces and humanitarian corridors extending throughout the Gaza Strip and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
The resolution was adopted in the 15-member Council, with the support of 12 members and the United States of America, Russia and the United Kingdom abstaining from voting.
This was the fifth attempt in the Council to adopt a draft resolution on the escalation in Gaza and Israel since October 7th. In previous times, the Council was not able to adopt any of the draft resolutions that were presented to it, either by using a veto or not obtaining a sufficient number of votes. According to what was stated in the daily news bulletin of the United Nations, a copy of which we received this morning, which also stated, “Malta presented the draft resolution that Calls for the establishment of urgent humanitarian truces and corridors extending throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable UN humanitarian agencies and their partners to have full, urgent and unhindered access to provide humanitarian assistance and facilitate the provision of basic goods and services important for the well-being of civilians, especially children, throughout the Gaza Strip.
In this regard, the resolution indicated that these humanitarian truces would enable “urgent repairs to basic infrastructure and urgent rescue and recovery efforts, including for missing children” in damaged and destroyed buildings, including medical evacuation of sick or wounded children and caregivers.
The resolution calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children, as well as ensuring immediate access to humanitarian aid.
The resolution calls on all parties to refrain from depriving the civilian population in Gaza of basic services and humanitarian assistance necessary for their survival, in accordance with international humanitarian law. It welcomes the initial, albeit limited, operation to provide humanitarian supplies to civilians in the Gaza Strip, and calls for these supplies to be made available to meet the needs of the civilian population, especially children.
The resolution calls on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law.
It stresses the importance of coordination, humanitarian notification and deconfliction mechanisms, to protect all medical and humanitarian personnel, vehicles, humanitarian sites and vital infrastructure, including United Nations facilities, and to help facilitate the movement of aid convoys and patients, especially sick and wounded children and their caregivers.
Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said that the resolution adopted by the Council “did not condemn Israel’s killing of 11,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, including 5,000 Palestinian children. It did not condemn the indiscriminate attacks launched by Israel.”
He added that the resolution also did not condemn "the attacks on hospitals and schools, and Israel's killing of United Nations employees, journalists, humanitarian workers, doctors, and rescue teams."
Mansour stressed that the Security Council should have called for a ceasefire a long time ago, and it should have called for a ceasefire now.
He added, "He (the Council) should have responded to the call of the United Nations and every humanitarian organization on Earth calling for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds. He should have at least repeated the General Assembly's call for an immediate, permanent and sustainable humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities."
He also pointed out that the Security Council had to be convinced that there was no military solution, “especially one that relies on committing atrocities,” and come up with advanced political solutions.
He said that the moment “the bombs stop, we will see the results,” including saving lives, allowing humanitarian aid to enter, saving thousands under the rubble, including Palestinian children, as well as allowing the release of people in detention.
Mansour spoke about what he described as the current Israeli government's plan, saying, "Its plan is to continue robbing, displacing, and depriving the Palestinian people of their rights."
He added that "such plans" not only deprive the Palestinian people of their rights, but also deprive the region of any opportunity for common peace and security.
He concluded his speech by saying, "There is an alternative reality in which the Palestinians are free and in which no Palestinian or Israeli is killed. It is time for this reality to prevail."
Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Brett Jonathan Miller, said that the Council’s decision today is separate from what is happening on the ground.
Although he praised the call for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages, he expressed regret that "this decision will fall on deaf ears when it comes to Hamas."
He said that the Security Council has met on this issue approximately ten times "and has not yet succeeded in condemning the October 7 massacre committed by Hamas."
The Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel explained that the resolution focuses only on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but it does not address the reasons that led to this moment, “which seems as if what we are witnessing in Gaza happened on its own.”
Miller said that Israel had to act "in order to defend our future. Israel's mission, as we have said clearly before, is to eliminate Hamas' capabilities."
He explained that Israel has already implemented daily tactical humanitarian truces to allow civilians in Gaza to temporarily evacuate.
He said that, to date, Israel has agreed to the entry of nearly 1,400 trucks loaded with thousands of tons of aid, and accused Hamas of "hoarding food, fuel, and medical supplies... leaving civilians in Gaza with nothing for weeks."
He added that Israel called for the temporary evacuation of all hospitals in northern Gaza in order to mitigate losses and protect civilian lives. The Israeli ambassador stated that the Security Council resolution does not contribute anything regarding the situation on the ground, noting that "returning the hostages to the homeland" represents Israel's top priority, and "Israel will continue to do whatever is necessary to achieve this goal."