The United Nations Security Council postponed a much-anticipated vote on a resolution calling for a cessation of fighting in the Gaza war and a significant increase in aid deliveries. The United States requested the delay to allow for more negotiations, as per diplomats.
The Council then entered closed consultations, originally scheduled for a vote at noon, to continue discussions. Diplomats on the Council expressed frustration with the repeated delays requested by the United States and doubted Washington’s willingness to ultimately allow the resolution to pass.
This was the second time in two days that a vote on the resolution had been delayed at the last minute to allow for more closed-door negotiations in an attempt to find a formula acceptable to the United States and Israel. Diplomats have noted a major sticking point regarding whether the United Nations should take over from Israel the inspection of shipments of food, water, fuel, and other aid going into Gaza.
Concerning this matter, American Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken stated at a news conference in Washington that the White House’s aim was to negotiate a resolution that “actually advances” aid delivery efforts “and doesn’t do anything that could actually hurt the delivery, or make it more complicated.”
He expressed hope for reaching a satisfactory conclusion.
The resolution, proposed by the United Arab Emirates, calls for a significant increase in humanitarian aid to be delivered not only by overland trucks but also by ships and aircraft.
Israel has been pressuring the United States to reject the UN’s involvement in inspections, as it would effectively remove Israel’s role in screening the shipments, according to diplomats familiar with the negotiations.
The United Arab Emirates and Egypt, which is not on the Council but plays a significant role in aid deliveries through its border, had insisted on a UN inspection system to streamline and accelerate aid delivery, as per diplomats.
The two Arab nations have argued that the current system, which requires aid trucks to be inspected at Kerem Shalom, an Israeli town near the Gaza and Egypt border, before passing through the Rafah crossing, cannot handle the necessary increase in aid deliveries.