Agence France-Presse After more than five months of war, the UN Security Council finally adopted a resolution on Monday demanding a “cease immediate fire” in Gaza, a call blocked several times by the United States, which this time abstained, increasing pressure on their Israeli ally. The resolution adopted to applause by 14 votes in favor, with one abstention, demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan – which already began two weeks ago – leading to a lasting ceasefire , and demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. For five months, the Palestinian people have suffered terribly. This bloodbath has continued for too long. It is our obligation to put an end to it. Finally, the Security Council is taking its responsibilities, welcomed Algerian Ambassador Amar Bendjama, even if the Council's binding resolutions are regularly ignored by the States concerned. Unlike the American text rejected Friday by Russian and Chinese vetoes, it does not link these requests to the diplomatic efforts of Qatar, the United States and Egypt, even if it recognizes the existence of these talks aimed at a truce accompanied by an exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. On Friday, Russia and China had vetoed a draft US resolution emphasizing the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in connection with negotiations for the release of hostages captured during the bloody and unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 on Israeli soil. Consult the complete file Consult the complete file FollowFollow Some observers saw this as a substantial evolution of Washington's position, under pressure to limit its support for Israel while the Israeli offensive has left more than 32,000 dead in Gaza, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health. The United States had until then systematically opposed the term ceasefire in UN resolutions, blocking three texts in this sense. But the rejected American text did not explicitly call for an immediate ceasefire, using wording considered ambiguous by Arab countries, China and Russia, which denounced the hypocritical spectacle of the United States. The resolution adopted Monday resulted from the work of the non-permanent members of the Council, who negotiated all weekend with the United States to try to avoid a new failure, according to diplomatic sources. The resolution also calls for the removal of all obstacles to humanitarian aid . The Council, largely divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue for years, had until then only been able to adopt two resolutions on this issue (out of eight submitted to the vote), which were essentially humanitarian, since October 7. Without much result: after five and a half months of war, the entry of aid into Gaza, besieged, remains largely insufficient and famine looms. The new resolution also condemns all terrorist acts, but without mentioning the Hamas attacks of October 7 which resulted in the death of at least 1,160 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count established from official Israeli data. No resolution adopted by the Council or the General Assembly of Since October 7, the UN has not specifically condemned Hamas, an absence systematically castigated by Israel.
The call for a ceasefire was blocked several times by the United States, which this time abstained.Middle East, the eternal conflict
Middle East, the eternal conflict
