Today, the U.S. announced its opposition to a proposed UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Gaza conflict, claiming, lamely, that the call for a ceasefire could interfere with the Biden administration’s efforts to end the hostilities. An anonymous member of the U.S. Mission to the UN told the Washington Post that “We’ve been clear and consistent that we are focused on intensive diplomatic efforts under way to bring an end to the violence and that we will not support actions that we believe undermine efforts to deescalate.”
The U.S.-opposed resolution, drawn up by France, followed talks French President Emmanuel Macron held with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
Paris said “the three countries agreed on three simple elements: The shooting must stop, the time has come for a ceasefire, and the UN Security Council must take up the issue.”
China’s Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun, for his part, said that during a closed-door meeting, UNSC members “heard the proposal made by our French colleague in the Council, and for China, definitely, we are supportive of all efforts facilitating the ending of the crisis and the coming back of peace in the Middle East.”
The full UN General Assembly has scheduled an open meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on May 20 and about a dozen ministers are expected to attend in person. The meeting was requested by the ambassadors of Niger, which chairs the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Algeria, the current chair of the UN’s Arab Group.
