The vote scheduled for Saturday in the Security Council on a new draft resolution demanding an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza was finally postponed until Monday.
The aim is to try to avoid another failure after the rejection of an American text on Friday, diplomatic sources told AFP.
On Friday, Russia and China vetoed a draft US resolution emphasizing the "need" for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza in connection with negotiations for the release of hostages captured during the bloody and unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 on Israeli soil.
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Some observers saw this as a substantial shift in Washington's position, under pressure to limit its support for Israel.
The United States had in fact until now systematically opposed the term “ceasefire” in UN resolutions, blocking three texts to this effect.
But the American text did not explicitly call for an immediate ceasefire, using language considered ambiguous by Arab countries, China and Russia, which denounced the "hypocritical spectacle" of the United States while Gaza is “virtually erased from the map”.
“If the United States is serious about a ceasefire, then vote for the other plan,” said Chinese Ambassador Jun Zhang.
Eight of the ten non-permanent members of the Council (Algeria, Malta, Mozambique, Guyana, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, Ecuador) worked on a new draft resolution, on which a vote was initially scheduled for Saturday.
The latest version seen by AFP, supported by the Arab group, "demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for the month of Ramadan (...), leading to a lasting ceasefire", while the offensive Israeli occupation in Gaza has left more than 32,000 dead, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
He also calls for the “unconditional” release of the hostages and the removal of “all obstacles” to humanitarian aid.
“Give Hamas an excuse”
But American Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned on Friday against this text which, according to her, presents a risk for diplomatic efforts on the ground with a view to a truce agreement in exchange for the release of the hostages.
An argument used during the last American veto at the end of February.
“In its current form, this text does not support sensitive diplomatic efforts in the region.
Worse, it could give Hamas an excuse to reject the agreement on the table,” she warned on Friday.
The United States therefore requested changes to the text, several diplomatic sources told AFP during the night from Friday to Saturday.
And to allow the continuation of negotiations, which relate in particular to the link between the ceasefire and the release of the hostages, the vote was postponed until Monday, these sources specified.
In the event of failure, this diplomatic sequence risks leaving “regrets” with certain members of the Council, commented Richard Gowan, analyst at the International Crisis Group.
“The American resolution was not what most member states expected, but it was at least a starting point to continue efforts to stop hostilities,” he said.
The Council, largely divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue for years, has only been able to adopt since October 7 on this issue two resolutions (out of eight submitted to the vote), essentially humanitarian.
Without much result: after five and a half months of war, the entry of aid into Gaza, besieged, remains largely insufficient and famine looms.