It has taken half a year for the United Nations Security Council to react in the only decent way to a war as catastrophic as the one that Israel has unleashed in response to the bloody terrorist attacks by Hamas on October 7.
Resolution 2728 approved yesterday demands an immediate and lasting ceasefire and links it, although it does not condition it, to the arrival of humanitarian aid and the unconditional release of the hostages still in the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
On this occasion, the United States has renounced the use of the right of veto, which it had already used on three previous occasions, and has given its green light to the resolution with its abstention, despite protests and even threats from the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu. .
This resolution is a first hopeful sign for a Security Council that has been paralyzed since the Russian aggression against Ukraine began, first due to the use of the right to veto resolutions of condemnation by Russia and China, and then by the United States over the resolutions. who demanded a permanent truce in the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
For Israel it is a severe diplomatic defeat, which indicates its international isolation and marks the point of greatest tension with the White House.
The United States ambassador has explained her abstention, instead of voting in favor, by the absence of an explicit condemnation of Hamas for the attacks and has indicated that it could not be applied before the release of all the hostages, thus echoing the demands of Israel since October 7.
Such an explanation has not been enough to appease Netanyahu, who has canceled the talks convened in Washington to discuss the conditions demanded by Biden for the withdrawal of Israeli troops in Rafah.
The White House's position has been slowly evolving since the war began to reach its current support for a truce that the resolution describes as “sustainable,” instead of “permanent” as the Palestinian Authority and its promoters wanted.
Washington suffered a double setback last week that may explain the unexpected turn of the last few hours.
Russia and China vetoed his proposed resolution, which they disqualified as hypocritical, and Netanyahu defiantly reaffirmed his intentions to invade Rafah as soon as possible “with or without the help of the United States,” in an open defiance of the recommendations. by Joe Biden.
The effects of a resolution that is legally binding on all partners of the international institution are not evident, although there are no coercive means to apply it, contemplated in the rarely used chapter seven of the United Nations Charter.
The angry reaction of the Israeli Government does not reveal any willingness to apply it, although it is difficult for the change in attitude of the United States not to be understood as a warning that may affect other levers in Biden's hands that until now seemed unconditional.
The stimulus it means for the negotiations led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States to obtain a truce and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners on the occasion of Ramadan is explicit.
It also encourages the unblocking of humanitarian aid paralyzed by Israel at the entry points to the Strip, essential to prevent the Gazan population from continuing to sink into malnutrition and even famine.
A new escalation in the war, such as a land entry into Rafah, will also be more difficult for Israel.