After US veto threats, the UN’s most powerful body passed a resolution that called for more aid in Gaza, but no ceasefire.
Washington strong-armed the UN Security Council to remove all meaningful language from a resolution about the war in Gaza. The resolution initially called for a ceasefire and an expedited aid delivery system in Gaza.
On Friday, the UN Security Council passed a 16-point resolution that includes “calls for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Responsible Statecraft, slammed the White House for crafting a “meaningless” resolution. Throughout the negotiations “the resolution became increasingly meaningless. Biden managed to delete the call for suspension of hostilities as well as the establishment of a robust UN inspection mechanism in Gaza,” in a post on X. “Biden’s changes will help ensure that Israel’s slaughter in Gaza continues while minimizing the UN’s insight into what increasingly appears to be a genocide.”
On Monday, the UAE proposed a motion that called for “urgent suspension of hostilities” and the creation of an inspection system for humanitarian aid entering Gaza run by the UN Secretary-General’s office. However, Washington threatened to veto the resolution in a show of support for Tel Aviv.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan were personally involved in the negotiations over the language. The US issued “red lines” that would invoke a veto, according to Axios.
The UAE-sponsored motion was delayed daily as the language was watered down in an effort to remove the American veto threat. The result, after five days of delays, was a nearly meaningless resolution. “The language around creating conditions for a cessation of hostilities is incredibly opaque,” Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group, said. “The language around the coordinator is pure garble. There is still the nod to the idea of a UN humanitarian mechanism, but it is so blurry that it gives the UN very little guidance or leverage.”
Following the vote, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that the resolution did not address critical issues. “The real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza,” he explained. “An effective aid operation in Gaza requires security, staff who can work in safety, logistical capacity, and the resumption of commercial activity. These four elements do not exist.”
The 15-member UN Security Council voted 13-0 in favor of the resolution. After the language was watered down to Washington’s liking, the White House abstained. While the US abstained, Israel announced support for the resolution. Israel’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, said that it “maintains Israel’s security authority to monitor and inspect aid entering Gaza.” He went on to thank President Joe Biden for “standing firm on Israel’s side throughout the negotiations and maintaining the defined red lines.”
Russia also abstained; however, Moscow objected to the watering down of the language and called for a return to the resolution proposed on Monday. “By signing off on this, the council would essentially be giving the Israeli armed forces complete freedom of movement for further clearing of the Gaza Strip,” Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said. Moscow insists the UN Security Council should revert to the initial text calling for “an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities.”
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, asked the body to back the Russian proposal. “What we are dealing with is an attempt at the destruction of our people, and their displacement forever from their land. This is Israel’s goal, it’s true objective. No future for Palestinians in Palestine,” he told the UN Security Council.
The resolution also included language that was supported by Washington and Tel Aviv, such as the call for releasing hostages. “Today, this council made clear that all hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally and that humanitarian groups must be able to access hostages, including for medical visits,” US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said following the vote.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the Security Council’s decision “is correct in its call to make sure that the UN is required to streamline its transfer of humanitarian aid, and ensure that it reaches its destination and not Hamas.”
Israel’s top diplomat went on to say that Tel Aviv has no plans to end military operations in Gaza soon. Cohen said Israel will “continue the war until the release of all hostages and the elimination of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”
Erdan also said, “The UN’s focus on aid mechanisms to Gaza is unnecessary and disconnected from reality.” Currently, 25% of people in Gaza are starving, according to human rights groups. Additionally, the medical system has been devastated, and disease has started to spread quickly. Already, there have been over 100,000 cases of diarrhea and 150,000 upper respiratory infections reported.
At least 20,000 Palestinians, including 14,200 women and children, have been killed by the IDF since October 7. Several international humanitarian organizations have identified war crimes committed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Even President Biden acknowledged that the Israeli bombing of Gaza is “indiscriminate.”
The White House has remained firm in its opposition to any calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Additionally, the Biden administration has refused to place any condition on the aid it gives to Israel and acted as a guardian of Tel Aviv at the UN Security Council. The US previously used its veto to kill a resolution calling for a ceasefire.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com, news editor of the Libertarian Institute, and co-host of Conflicts of Interest.
Diluted? Non-existent?…..
Absurd universe. Having gone along with every US demand wattering down the resolution to the incomprehensible statement, US then — abstains? It was not good enough to please Israel. To the dest of the world it ia starting to look like US is afraid of Israel. Israel barks commands — and US back over backwards to please.
Russia abstained as well, asking what was the resolution hoping to accomplish.
People need to start realizing USA and Israel are in reality one in the same. They are ruled over by exactly the same folk. The “USA” and “Israel” just wear different masks and say different things at times to keep people confused.
The US, UK and France veto power shall be abolished and given to India, Brazil and Indonesia/South Africa…!
Also UN should be relocated to a neutral country, such as Costa Rica…!
And China and Russia keep their veto power. What a stupid idea. And if the UN wants to move, OK. Since the US has 4% of the world’s population, the US should pay 4% of the bill to move the UN.
Just 4%? It pays more than 20% of the UN’s whole budget.
And I would wager it gets more than 20% return on its ‘investment’ with its bullying tactics.
Indeed. The U.N. giving the USA’s constant international nonsense the appearance of legitimacy is worth its weight in gold.
US controls and manipulates UN…! Just for the reason it pays more than 20% of its budget…!
Remember Nicki Haley taking rows and threatening of the nations voting against US proposals…?!
Other than Liz Cheney, Haley is the Globalists ‘wet dream’ for President.
I think I’ll put in my will the sending at each’s passing a large wreath of dead roses, a tiny recognition of all the dead resulting of their policies – or advocated policies.
I’m a woman, never a feminist and knew all that marketing of the world becoming a gentler place when women came to power was a bald-faced lie.
Ruthless and overambitious women are much more ugly and repulsive than even men.
Thatcher a classic case
“…the world becoming a gentler place when women came to power…”
It’s still attainable, and in my opinion, quite likely an outcome. But the ‘women’ in power have to stop pretending to be men, like Haley et. al. Talking tough, acting tough, saying stupid things to “fit in with the boys”.
Uncle Sapien, from your reply I surmise you married a very good woman 🙂 She didn’t receive the sex-related “mean girls” imprint on the X chromosome. Haley, Hillary et.al. are not pretending to be men, they have the aggressive, competitive, manipulative traits in amounts equal to any man and far more than most.
Auntie Entity is a good kid, she puts up with a lot from me.
“…aggressive, competitive, manipulative traits…”
I suppose then, what I’m getting at is, for all we look to as leaders, let’s view those traits you list as DECIDELY NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES.
I realise now that what I capitalised shortens to ‘D.N.A.’ Unintentional and a sh*tball pun if I ever seen one.
Who provided the figures? How do we know it is true?
The US has already destroyed the UN, they have used the UN for their own interests only. It made them look better than they are.
The trail of vetoes protecting the Israeli/US crimes speaks for itself.
Having seen the UN turn a blind eye to Arab sponsored terrorism,and a blind eye to the destrution of Tibet-who needs it?
Does that excuse and justify the US from denying a cease fire in Gaza? The massacre of the Palestinian people, most of them children is what our elected government sponsors, bombs and deliberate starvation and denial of even a minimum of medical care are war crimes committed in our name. Real, decent people, with some morals can’t accept that and stay silent.
The US does nothing for charity, it is always business.
Yes, it does. And that is why the UN is located in New York.
UN can survive anywhere without the dirty printed US dollars…!
So what is stopping the UN from moving?
The UN is in NYC, making US control much easier.
They will destroy the UN before they would consent to another location. All the activities at the UN BRING MONEY TO THE CITY AND JOBS TOO AND PRESTIGE.
The US pays nothing, they rob Peter to PAY Paul and claim it is their money.
That makes no sense.
correction “rob Peter to pay Paul”, sorry, my mistake.
There should be no veto powers , everything should be on majority voting no matter how big or small a country is , one country one vote , and any country trying to influence a vote should be barred from that vote .
The world needs change. With the US in the UN it is a useless broken institution, the US uses the UN for American interests and that does include propaganda. The US has destroyed meaningful international institutions. The USA has globally destroyed nation states, they left trails of ruin. After Ukraine it will be Europe’s turn to get destroyed.
All five “permanent members” of the Security Council use the UN for their interests.
Why France is there is beyond me , they not only capitulated to Hitler but also helped the Nazis deport Jews .
They don`t need to destroy Europe , the US has total control , the mission is to keep Europe down both economically and militarily = no threat to US HEGEMONY .
I think you would be disappointed with how India would use its veto power.
I like the idea of moving the UN to a neutral country. But not Costa Rica. The problem is that the delegates and their governments enjoy the cosmopolitan NY lifestyle and no one wants to move.
Singapore.
Or a rotating list like the above, Geneva, Sao Paulo, etc.
The racist UN delegates don’t want to leave NY where their kids go to the best English speaking private school and they shop at Lord and Taylor’s and their families enjoy a cosmopolitan life style. Most countries feel oppressed by the UN’s headquarters being in New York. But their elitist foreign ministers don’t want to move except maybe to Paris or London. The reasons to move are manifest and have been raised for a long time. But the delegates across the political spectrum just love New York.
The diplomats would miss their high lifes in NYC.
Another mark of shame … we’re accumulating them pretty fast these days.
What else should anyone expect. Nutandyahoo, and Genocide Joe are not going to let some pesky good-dooer organization like the U.N. get in the way of their killing orgy. Why famine and illness is just starting to set in. The good part is coming.
Blame those who opposed Oslo,and said no to negotiations.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israeli-american-hostage-dies-captivity-moment-biden-admin-appears-have-no-plan
American Hostage Dies In Gaza – White House Silent, No Plan On Horizon
“Currently, it’s unlikely that Israeli or US intelligence has any idea where the remaining Americans are being kept inside the Gaza Strip, now a full besieged military zone. Little can be done, other than initiating a second temporary truce and hostage swap. Efforts to achieve this have so far failed, after Israel proposed a plan days ago that envisioned the release of 40 from Hamas captivity.”
How does it feel to want, Joe?
Is US afraid of Israel? Biden is squeemish about the “indiscriminate” this or that. But cannot do anything about it.
The US political establishment is afraid of the power of the Israel lobby. Politicians have very good reason to be afraid of the lobby — it can and often does ruin careers.
Of course, to be willing to enable genocide in order to protect your electoral chances is to be a despicable and disgusting excuse for a human being, but it’s also pretty common.
Biden does what he wants, he is a Zionist and was paid millions of $$ through all the years in politics by the Israeli lobby. More than anyone else. But he wants to get reelected so he pretends to care. The demented old Biden is what he always was, a Zionist.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israeli-american-hostage-dies-captivity-moment-biden-admin-appears-have-no-plan
American Hostage Dies In Gaza – White House Silent, No Plan On Horizon
“Currently, it’s unlikely that Israeli or US intelligence has any idea where the remaining Americans are being kept inside the Gaza Strip, now a fully besieged military zone. Little can be done, other than initiating a second temporary truce and hostage swap. Efforts to achieve this have so far failed, after Israel proposed a plan days ago that envisioned the release of 40 from Hamas captivity.”
Hamas: Methodical, determined.
i am either stabbing you in the heart or i am stabbing you in the back.
but it’s all good because i love you so much – OMG please send me more money.
“i am either stabbing you in the heart or i am stabbing you in the back. but it’s all good because i love you so much…”
Psssh, kept calling it ‘murder’ when OJ was accused of doing it…
“After the language was watered down to Washington’s liking, the White House abstained. While the US abstained, Israel announced support for the resolution.”
The UN wuz snookered…
No. The Security Council was always intended to permit the permanent members to control it. It’s a feature, not a bug. The other members wanted to continue putting themselves on the record as attempting to do as much as possible to at least alleviate a bit of the worst of the horror. But they always knew what the limits are.
“[Non-permanent] members wanted to continue putting themselves on…record as attempting to do as much as possible to at least alleviate a bit of the worst of the horror. But…always knew…the limits.”
Well…beyond ‘wanting to put selves on record as attempting’…and despite “kn[owing]…the limits”…
…in the face of the burgeoning “catastrophic” food crisis, n-p members surely went into negotiations hopeful that final aid delivery language would “at least alleviate a bit” of the siege blockade suffering…
…and, in that desperate hope, progressively sacrificed all of the ‘ceasefire’ language, and almost all the ‘aid’ language.
Upshot? Obviously, the final language leaves both issues moot – Israel and the US can and will argue that it is fulfilling both parts of the resolution, and, worse, that – as the US UN rep is already on record saying – ‘the US/Israel are working together with the UN.’
But I would amend my post – whether the ‘yays’ were totally hornswoggled depends on whether Israel now loosens its war crime blockade even the slightest. That is: if the US/Israel does virtually nothing, then – vs. a GA vote – the UN validated the ‘working together’ idea in return for nothing.
But last, viewed as a round, and not a terminal defeat, the UN can declare, ‘We sincerely tried via the SC, but the US/Israel did virtually nothing’…
…and, on that basis, can advance a separate ‘aid delivery’ GA resolution…just as, I hope, they’ll advance a ‘BDS to resist apartheid’ resolution (as w/South Africa).
Again, I don’t think the UNSC members were hornswoggled at all. None of them are new to and naive about UN “diplomacy.”
General Assembly Resolution ES-10/22, which passed on 12/12/2023 with an overwhelming majority, includes a demand for humanitarian access. I’m sure the GA will continue to make that and other appropriate demands. There isn’t a chance in the world that the Security Council will adopt a pro-BDS resolution and the GA almost certainly won’t do so anytime soon.
Politics, the art of the possible.
I think the BRICS+ nations will start an alternative soon.
Let us all hope for a more peaceful 2024 than 2023.
Let the world be free of warmongers and murderers.
“Let the world be free of warmongers and murderers.”
The journey of 100,000 light-years starts with a single step.
Indeed – let us reject dishonesty and greed in politics, shun the MIC and MSM, and each be our own ‘better’ as small lights for the world.
I`m afraid to say HELL WILL FREEZE OVER BEFORE THAT HAPPENS .
The mistake was for the UN to fold.
They should have let the US veto the resolution – again. Show the World how isolated it is and fix the blame for who is really responsible for the genocide… Joe!
I agree, it has been watered down to uselessness. So many UN people, journalists, and medical personnel have lost their lives already, how can all that is needed be delivered in Gaza with nonstop bombings? Not even a fraction of the need can be provided and all that is intentional.
How can human beings be so evil?
“…how can all that is needed be delivered in Gaza with nonstop bombings?”
Shhhhhhh !!! Dang-it, Twisted Lysister, you’re saying the quiet part out loud again.
The Israelis are Cowards, the USA and all supporting Israel in their slaughtering of unarmed people, are COWARDS. It is shocking that anyone watching the carnage in Gaza/West Bank, refuse to demand a Cease Fire. The USA is no longer respected, Israel is beyond redemption and every country supporting this Genocide, is a country you should NEVER travel to. When these countries turn on their own Citizens and they will, how will they justify it? God told them to?
Hamas must be destroyed to save Gaza.
That’s not what’s happening. Gaza is being destroyed and Hamas is not. And destroying Hamas wouldn’t save Gaza anyway.
The Zionist goal, as decades of history makes clear, is to ethnically cleanse Palestine so that Eretz Israel can be ruled without opposition by the “chosen people.” Only the cessation of support of the ethnic cleansing by the US and its minions will save Gaza or the rest of Palestine.
https://youtu.be/uxzcKiSuJQw?si=LA4piSoVw0ChP_y_ https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/025d6894969e1ad88a0273d7cb2536c6b77b3ce0c8ff09a53f84cfe3f5dfde84.jpg
The UN is a US LACKEY , the US should be kicked out of the UN , ho hang on a minute the US finances the UN .
Happy Christmas, Saturnalia, what have you.
To all my Christian friends and heathens…
Peace on Earth.
https://consortiumnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/1pB95qv_HDbjYCGJJ70KvVA.jpeg
The Origins of Christmas
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/12/24/the-origins-of-christmas/
Right back at ya! Hope there’s Hope in 2024.