[ad_1]
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at the Tahrir Palace in Cairo, on 21 March 2024. (AFP)
- The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on a US-drafted
resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. - The European Union has joined in the calls for a “humanitarian
pause” to the conflict. - Negotiations for a truce continue in Qatar, with Hamas insisting on a
deal to end the war, while Israel is only willing to discuss a temporary pause.
The United Nations Security
Council is expected to vote as soon as Friday on a United States-drafted
resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as the European Union called for a “humanitarian
pause”, adding to the pressure on Israel to end its five-month-long
bombardment of the Palestinian territory.
Washington,
Israel’s staunchest ally, has been gradually hardening its tone following its
early solid support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war
in Gaza.
The
latest draft resolution marks a further toughening of Washington’s approach
amid rising global condemnation of a war in which some 32 000 Palestinians have
been killed.
UN
experts have also warned of an imminent famine as a result of Israel’s
blockade.
The
draft US text describes an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” as an
imperative to protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
A ceasefire would also be conditional on the release of some of the
remaining captives taken by Hamas in its attack on Israel on 7
October.
READ | Blinken heads to Middle East for a sixth time in Gaza diplomacy push
Previously,
the US has avoided referring to a ceasefire and vetoed UN resolutions that have
called for one, most recently in February.
Announcing
the Friday vote, US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas Greenfield, said US
diplomats had been working on a resolution that would “unequivocally
support ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire in
Gaza as part of a deal which would get hostages released and enable a surge in
humanitarian aid”.
There
was some discomfort at the language used in the US draft, and a second
resolution has also been drafted with stronger language that demands an
immediate ceasefire. It has the support of eight of the 10 non-permanent
members of the 15-member body.
The
diplomatic moves at the UN came as EU leaders meeting in Brussels called for an
“immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” in
Gaza.
They
also called for “the unconditional release of all hostages” and urged
Israel not to proceed with its plan for a major ground offensive in the
southernmost city of Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians have
sought refuge from the war.
The
EU said such an assault would “worsen the already catastrophic
humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision of basic
services and humanitarian assistance”.
The
ceasefire calls came as truce negotiations mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt
were set to continue in Doha. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s
spy chief, David Barnea, would travel to Qatar on Friday to meet mediators.
READ | UN says famine imminent in north Gaza, an ‘unprecedented’ crisis
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on his sixth trip to the region since
the conflict began, said he believed there could be a deal between Israel and
Hamas, which controls Gaza and killed more than 1 000 people in its October
attack on Israel.
Negotiations
in Qatar have centred on a truce of about six weeks that would allow the
release of 40 Israeli captives in return for hundreds of Palestinians
detained in Israeli jails.
Blinken said:
Negotiators continue to work. The gaps are narrowing, and we’re continuing to push for an agreement in Doha. There’s still difficult work to get there. But I continue to believe it’s possible.
The
main obstacle has been that Hamas says it will release captives only as part of
a deal that would end the war, while Israel says it will discuss only a
temporary pause.
[ad_2]
Source link