Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, urged “all sides to urgently change course,” in his appeal to the Security Council’s support for Gaza’s political future at a United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting held on Wednesday.
Wennesland stressed that humanitarian and security challenges cannot be addressed without the consideration of Gaza’s political future. Many speakers at the meeting denounced Israel’s recent attack on Rafah, calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Some Member States such as China expressed support for the draft resolution to stop the Israeli military operation on Rafah which was drafted by Algeria. The representative of China called on Council members to “put aside political calculations,” and adopt the draft text, stated the UN press release.
The representative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spoke for the Arab Group and stressed the critical need to end the war in which Israel “persistently and deliberately crossed all red lines.”
South Africa critiqued the Council’s approach to Member State’s calls for a ceasefire, describing it as “not entirely forthcoming.” The delegate recalled the legally binding resolution calling for a short-lived ceasefire during Ramadan was ignored.
During the meeting, Israel’s delegate reiterated that their war is “only with Hamas, not the people of Gaza.” Commenting on the Rafah offensive he said: “There are four terror battalions in Rafah currently, which is why the precise strike was conducted on Sunday, eliminating two senior Hamas terror officials.”
In the statement, the representative said: “The war would end if Hamas were to release the hostages and lay down their arms, but they refuse.” Expressing frustration at the Council the representative criticized the weekly meetings saying they “convene to hold Israel accountable for a war it did not want.”
The U.S. commented saying although Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, they are “heartbroken and horrified by the deaths following the Israeli airstrike on May 26.” The U.S. delegate added that Israel “has an obligation to protect civilians.” In addition, he requested Israel remove all obstacles to the flow of aid through all crossings in Gaza.
After the Council meeting, The U.S. deputy ambassador at the UN said that Algeria’s new resolution would “not change the situation on the ground,” according to France24.