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US admin pushing back on UNSC Israel-Hamas ceasefire resolution

An American diplomatic source told JNS that ongoing negotiations have a greater chance of success than a council resolution.

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East, including the situation in Gaza and Israel, in New York City, Jan. 23, 2024. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East, including the situation in Gaza and Israel, in New York City, Jan. 23, 2024. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.

The United States is resisting the advancement of a United Nations Security Council draft resolution on Gaza, according to an American diplomatic source familiar with the matter.

The Security Council’s 10 elected members, known as the E10, have put together a draft resolution which includes calls for a ceasefire and release of the hostages held in Gaza, as well as a dramatic change in the flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip.

The initial text was forwarded on Wednesday to the council’s five permanent members, including the United States, China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom.

However, the Trump administration like its predecessor is attempting to push off any council action, preferring to continue negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Biden’s U.N. diplomats were isolated because of that posture. But, save one abstention, the former administration vetoed every other resolution calling for a ceasefire, or applied enough pressure to kill drafts, until June 2024, when, with Israeli approval, it voted in favor of a council resolution to implement a three-phase ceasefire, which was never carried out.

The Trump administration has yet to engage on the E10’s text in any meaningful way, according to the diplomatic source.

The U.S. mission to the United Nations had not responded to a request for comment at time of publication.

It’s unclear whether the E10 will push for a vote on the resolution, despite the threat of an American veto.

Mike Wagenheim is a Washington-based correspondent for JNS, primarily covering the U.S. State Department and Congress. He is the senior U.S. correspondent at the Israel-based i24NEWS TV network.
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