10:07 AM
The Permanent Representative from Guyana is presiding. Her
country holds the presidency for the month.
Amar Benjama, the Algerian Ambassador, is
introducing their resolution, saying it was a product of
extensive discussions.
He said the Council "cannot afford passivity" in the face of what
is unfolding in Gaza. He says the Council must follow its
mandate, and demand an immediate ceasefire.
09:30 AM: Tabled by Algeria, the draft
resolution would also have the Council reiterate its demand that
all parties scrupulously comply with their obligations under
international law regarding the protection of civilians.
Threat of veto looms
The Council needs at least nine votes to be able
to adopt the draft resolution.
Media reports indicate that the United States may veto it, as it
has publicly said it would
referring to earlier drafts during this weeks-long negotiating
process.
The term “ceasefire” has been contentious, with the US having
vetoed a previous
draftresolution late last year tabled by the United Arab
Emirates.
If this happens again today, the General Assembly would again
organize an emergency special session through a mechanism set up
to examine the use of veto, which is a privilege of the Council’s
five permanent members – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom
and the United States.
Algeria’s draft on the table today would have the Council reject
the “forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian
population in violation of international law and would demand an
immediate end to any such violations and the immediate and
unconditional release of all hostages. It would, among
other things, call for unfettered humanitarian access into and
throughout Gaza.
The Council has held more than a dozen meetings on the war in
Gaza, including an open debate in late January,
with more than 70 UN Member States voicing serious concerns about
the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
Many called on the Security Council to
“work harder” to end the war, which began in October when Israeli
invaded the enclave in response to Hamas’s attacks that left
1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage. To date, almost 30,000
Palestinians have been killed, according to local health
authorities.
The US has reportedly circulated a rival
resolution that would for the first time, support a
temporary ceasefire in Gaza. It calls for a halt to the fighting
"as soon as practicable" and requires the release of all hostages
seized by Palestinian militants during the 7 October terror
attacks in southern Israel, according to news reports.
Here are some highlights from the previous Council meeting focused on Gaza
on 23 January:
HIGHLIGHTS
- Israel’s “clear and repeated rejection” of the two-State
solution “is unacceptable”, said UN Secretary-General António
Guterres, adding that “this refusal, and the denial of the right
to statehood to the Palestinian people, would indefinitely
prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace
and security.”
- Council members roundly called for the two-State solution to
be realized and for an end to the war, with many calling for an
immediate ceasefire to end the suffering of Palestinians and
allow the aid they urgently need to be delivered unhindered
- Many speakers from the wider UN membership echoed those calls
- “Stop this massacre,” said the Deputy Prime Minister of
Jordan
- “We are running out of time. There are two choices: a
spreading fire or a ceasefire,” said the Foreign Affairs Minister
for the Observer State of Palestine
- Israel’s Ambassador said if the Council continues to provide
aid to Gaza without considering the Iranian threat, the world
faces “a very dark future”
