According to the latest information from the Security Council, the revised programme indicates that an anticipated meeting due to take place at to vote on a resolution from the UAE which has been under negotiation for days, has again been delayed.
Draft resolution: Key points
Video coverage of this morning’s meeting of the Security Council.
- Demands parties to the conflict “allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance” at scale, to the Palestinian population of Gaza.
- Calls for the “urgent suspension of hostilities” to allow safe and unhindered access.
- The resolution cites “deep concern at the dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation” in Gaza and its “grave impact” on civilians there.
- Reaffirms the Council’s “strong concern for the disproportionate effect” the conflict is having on women and children. It stresses the obligation to respect and protect humanitarian relief and medical staff.
- Takes note of the reopening of the Karem Abu Salem or Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to speed up delivery of aid, and demands the parties allow the use of all land, sea and air routes to provide an increased flow of aid.
- Requests the UN chief sets up a monitoring mechanism with the necessary staff and equipment “to exclusively monitor all humanitarian relief consignments”, to speed up delivery. This will be independent of all parties to the conflict and be in effect for one year.
- Demands the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” providing for their medical needs while still captive and “firmly condemns” all violations of international humanitarian law including indiscriminate attacks against civilians “and all acts of terrorism.”
- Notes UN facilities are protected under humanitarian law and “rejects forced displacement of the civilian population”. It demands combatants ensure the safety and security of all UN and associated personnel.
- Reiterates the Council’s “unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-State solution”, stressing the importance of unifying the West Bank and Gaza under the Palestinian Authority.
The Security Council has adjourned the meeting and ambassadors have gone back into informal consultations, in a bid to find some consensus that will lead to the passage of a new resolution.
We’ll be monitoring the situation throughout the day and resume our live coverage as soon as there are more developments…
Status quo ‘cannot continue’: UAE
Mohamed Issa Abushahab, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), started off by noting that as the end of 2023 is approaching, it has already been the deadliest year in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’s history.
“This should be a wakeup call that the current status quo cannot be allowed to continue, and this starts with the current situation in Gaza,” he said.
Ambassador Mohamed Issa Abushahab of the United Arab Emirates addresses the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. He recalled last week’s visit by many ambassadors, members of the Security Council, to the Rafah border crossing, noting that they witnessed “a humanitarian system at its breaking point.”
“They saw thousands of trucks and warehouses filled with aid from people and governments around the world, the physical expression of their solidarity with the people of Gaza,” he said.
“Meanwhile, just over the border, 2.2 million people remain trapped with nine out of every ten spending entire day without food. Gazans are experiencing unprecedented levels of starvation and thirst, while doctors lack even the most basic of medical supplies to treat the wounded and the growing threat of infection – what we need is access,” he added.
He noted that the resolution, scheduled for a vote today, aims to meet this need by demanding the use of all land, sea and air routes to allow aid to enter.
“Israel must stop blocking the entry of aid, and allow life-saving assistance into the Gaza Strip,” he added, noting the opening of the border crossing at Karam Abu Salem.
“We call on authorities to ensure its full opening, including to commercial cargo, so that aid can enter at scale,” the Ambassador said.
A family cooks in the rubble of their home in the Gaza Strip.
‘Inertia is not a solution’: France
France’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Nathalie Estival-Broadhurst, said her country “will never recognize the illegal annexation” of the Palestinian Occupied Territories, nor the legalization of rogue settlements in the West Bank.
Deputy Permanent Representative Nathalie Broadhurst of France addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. She strongly condemned the recent announcement of new settlement building and expulsion of Palestinian families, authorized by the Israeli Government.
Such decisions jeopardize the possibility of a two-State solution, she said. She added that an environment of “total impunity” in the West Bank was driving the spike in violence.
“We cannot accept the abuses that deprive Palestinians of their rights and their land”, she reiterated…We must urgently restore prospects for a political horizon to implement the two-State solution.
She stressed that France stands solidly by the people of Israel and condemned the brutal gender-based violence perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October.
“We call for a new immediate, lasting humanitarian truce, which must lead to a lasting ceasefire”, to obtain the release of all the hostages still held by Hamas, and to provide the population of Gaza with the aid they need.
She said a resumption of the political process is urgent.
“We must work seriously towards building a state for the Palestinians. And the Palestinian Authority has a key role to play in this process, in the West Bank as in Gaza, which should be part of this Palestinian state”, adding that “inertia is not a solution.”
Russia: Civilians bombed in Gaza ‘are among the hostages’ in the conflict
Vassily Nebenzia, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN said that thus far over 19,000 people have lost their lives in Gaza, 70 percent of them women and children, while over two million Gazans have become internally displaced.
Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia of the Russian Federation addresses the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. “The victims of the indiscriminate Israeli actions are also amongst the Israeli hostages,” he said, noting also the total blockade of the enclave, downed communications with spotty internet access and harsh restrictions on humanitarian aid.
“There is an acute shortage in the Strip of water, fuel, medicines – and the civic order is on the brink of collapse,” he added, noting also that several UN and humanitarian personnel have been killed and facilities destroyed.
He said ccording to media reports, Israel has dropped around 29,000 bombs in Gaza, comparable to the number dropped by the US and UK throughout their entire military operation in Iraq in 2003.
“We have received shocking news from the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, on 16 of December during the Holy Family festivities in the Church, which was a refuge for many families, an Israeli sniper killed two Christians…according to witness accounts there were no warnings issued,” he said, noting that seven people were also injured “as they tried to protect their loved ones”.
Another marked shelter, a monastery, was also hit in an Israeli airstrike, he added.
“Such attacks continue at a time when everyone is preparing for the Christmas celebrations,” he said.
Ambassador Nebenzia also spoke of the reports of violence, including killings, in the West Bank.
“In this context, we would like to underscore the fact that the clearing of the West Bank is something that Israel has been doing for a long time, even before 7 October, when there was no link with terror threats or security issues,” he said.
China: Only a ceasefire will prevent further disaster
China’s ambassador and Permanent Representative ZHANG Jun, said civilians in Gaza have no access to water, electricity, and other basics of survival, while aid trucks are waiting in line with supplies stockpiled in Egypt.
Ambassador Zhang Jun of China addresses the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Even more worrying is that due to Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment the whole relief network is “on the verge of paralysis”.
On this basis the UAE’s draft resolution has the backing of the majority of Council members. He said no country should hesitate to back the resolution.
“We urge a constructive approach” he said, adding it was an “emergency initiative” in response to the crisis in Gaza.
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