The United Arab Emirates is circulating the draft text of a new resolution for the UN Security Council for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid for Gaza, according to rumor at the United Nations and media reports. The U.A.E. draft text, that Reuters claims to have seen, currently “calls for an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access.”
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports that the draft affirms support for a two-state solution in the region and “stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.” The U.A.E. has been in the forefront of a series of initiatives by the Arab Group and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation to get action to stop the slaughter in Gaza. With Egypt, the U.A.E., for example, initiated the personal visit to Rafah by top-rank ambassadors at the UN Security Council last week.
Expectations are that many co-sponsors are being lined up for the new U.A.E. text, while in the meantime the U.S. expresses opposition. For a few hours today, the UN Security Council listed the “Middle East” on its afternoon agenda, and then dropped it. On Tuesday, Dec. 19, and also Thursday, Dec. 21, the UN Security Council has “Middle East” posted on its agenda, beginning in the morning. The debate and vote could happen at any of these times.
