Page 51 - Issue 62

Ramadan Vol.1 Issue 62 December 2023 ELITE

Kareem

<Ceasefire! but only for 15 days=

Mariam Elsafty, senior, political sciencee

mariam.yasser2020@feps.edu.eg

The UN Security Council recently passed a According to the U.N. Charter, if any of the
resolution demanding an immediate five permanent members exercises their veto
ceasefire in Gaza during the month of power, the proposal is rejected. Since the
Ramadan. The resolution, numbered 2728, conflict in Gaza began, several draft
was adopted with 14 votes in favor and the resolutions calling for a ceasefire have been
United States abstaining. It calls for the
immediate and unconditional release of vetoed by the permanent members. Some
hostages and emphasizes the urgent need to observers, including Israel, viewed Monday’s
expand the flow of aid into Gaza. The most vote as indicative of a shift in the U.S.'s
recent U.N. Security Council resolution, position, given that it has previously vetoed
which calls for a cessation of hostilities three resolutions related to the Gaza war.
during Ramadan and the liberation of all However, White House National Security
captives, received support from 14 countries, Council spokesperson John Kirby refuted this
including China and Russia. The United interpretation in a statement to the press on
States chose not to vote, which permitted Monday, asserting that the abstention does
the resolution to be adopted. Legal
authorities have noted the significance of the not reflect any change in U.S. policy. In the
resolution’s adoption and the U.S.'s decision past, the United States has vetoed resolutions,
to abstain, interpreting it as a sign of the such as one proposed by the United Arab
Biden administration’s dwindling tolerance Emirates, which did not denounce the Hamas
towards Israel. The office of Israeli Prime attacks on October 7 and did not align with
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarked Washington’s stance against an immediate
that the U.S.'s abstention marked a ceasefire at that time. In February, the U.S.
significant shift from its longstanding stance vetoed a resolution introduced by Algeria due
in the Security Council since the war’s onset. to concerns that it might compromise ongoing
As a result, Israel scrapped its plans to
dispatch a delegation to Washington. The negotiations for hostages. Recently, China
resolution garnered votes from all 14 and Russia vetoed an American initiative that
members of the U.N. Security Council, with linked a ceasefire to the release of hostages.
the United States abstaining, thus enabling However, as seen, Israel keeps on violating
its passage. The affirmative votes included international law and keeps on going with the
those from the other four permanent genocide, despite the ceasefire resolution. In
members—China, France, Russia, and the addition, this ceasefire is only temporary,
United Kingdom—as well as the ten non- which does not serve the protection of the
51 permanent members: Algeria, Ecuador, Palestinians, and reflects the weak image of
Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South
Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and the United Nations.
Switzerland.