Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
GAZA CITY, GAZA – OCTOBER 31: A view from the area after Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, on October 31, 2023. Palestinians, including children killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia refugee camp, Interior Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. Israeli attacks continue on the 25th day in Gaza. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Washington
CNN
—
The US is expressing concerns over a draft resolution calling for a suspension in fighting and an increase in humanitarian assistance for Gaza, arguing that the proposal of a UN-created monitoring mechanism for aid going into the Gaza strip could slow down the delivery of critical assistance.
Those concerns, if unresolved, could put the thrice-delayed resolution in continued limbo. As one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, a US veto means the resolution will not pass.
“The goal of this Resolution is to facilitate and help expand humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza, and we cannot lose sight of that purpose,” said Nate Evans, a spokesperson for the US Mission to the UN. “There are still serious and widespread concerns that this Resolution as drafted could actually slow down delivery of humanitarian aid by directing the UN to create an unworkable monitoring mechanism. We must ensure any Resolution helps and doesn’t hurt the situation on the ground.”
Timing for a possible vote on the resolution on Thursday has yet to be announced.
A diplomatic source previously told CNN that key issues with the negotiations over the draft are the “cessation of hostilities” language and the call for the UN to “establish a monitoring mechanism in the Gaza Strip with the necessary personnel and equipment, under the authority of the United Nations Secretary-General.”
President Joe Biden has been in touch with members of his national security team and officials representing the US and the UN on discussions surrounding the resolution, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.
Kirby declined to weigh in on how a possible veto from the US would reflect on the Biden administration on the international stage.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves – there isn’t a resolution to vote on right now, we’re still working with our partners up there about what that language ought to be,” he said. “It is important to us, of course, that the humanitarian situation in Gaza gets addressed. We are working harder than any other nation to actually address those concerns.”
Still, he acknowledged, proposed language tasking the UN with exclusive responsibility for inspecting the delivery of aid could be a sticking point.
“I’m not going to negotiate this language here from this podium– we’re still actively working with our UN partners about the resolution and the language itself,” he said. “Israel has had– and understandably so– has had a role in the inspection regime, a key role, a pivotal role, and we understand and respect that, and I think I’ll leave it at that.”
Previous delays this week centered on the reticence of the United States to sign onto a resolution that could be seen as a rebuke to Israel’s continuing military campaign in Gaza.
Diplomats were hopeful that changing some language could gain American support, or at least an abstention from voting, which would allow the resolution to pass.
But while the US, Israel’s strongest ally, has repeatedly condemned the Hamas attack that killed more than 1,200 people October 7, the mounting civilian death toll in Gaza from Israel’s response has prompted top US officials – including Biden – to urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take more meaningful steps to protect innocent lives while waging his war against Hamas.
About 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry.
During a Security Council meeting earlier this week, Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said civilians and journalists must still be protected and vital humanitarian aid needs to reach civilians.
Wood, who also expressed concerns about Israeli settler violence in the West Bank, did not imply how the United States would vote on the resolution.
The US has vetoed previous measures at the UN Security Council and voted against a call for a ceasefire in the larger UN General Assembly.
Last week, the wider United Nations General Assembly voted to demand an immediate ceasefire in war-torn Gaza, in a rebuke to the United States, which has repeatedly blocked ceasefire calls in the Security Council.
While the General Assembly vote is politically significant and seen as wielding moral weight, it is nonbinding, unlike a Security Council resolution.
