Brussels – After months of cross vetoes—mainly between the big three, the United States, Russia and China—the UN Security Council has approved for the first time a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Washington abstained, while the other 14 members voted in favour. A call that goes beyond the one for an “immediate humanitarian pause leading to a sustainable ceasefire” that came out of the March 21-22 European Council. EU leaders, however, rejoice and now call for “urgent implementation.”
The resolution calls for a ceasefire for Ramadan, which began as early as March 10 and will end between April 9 and 10. At the same time, it provides for the immediate release of all hostages still in the hands of Hamas and calls on Israel to do more to facilitate the massive entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip. “The implementation of this resolution is vital for the protection of all civilians,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen commented on X. She was echoed by the bloc’s other foreign policy tenors, Charles Michel and Josep Borrell, who said that the resolution “needs urgent implementation by all.”
In the most authoritative international body, the only one that can make decisions binding on paper on all UN member countries, there are currently three EU countries: France, which is a permanent member; Slovenia; and Malta. All three supported the resolution jointly proposed by the ten rotating members. Immediately after the text’s approval, France announced that it was working on a new resolution to arrive at a permanent ceasefire in Gaza after Ramadan.
Decisive was the US abstention, which sent the cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into a rage.
A decision that “damages Israel’s war effort,” commented Tel Aviv, that immediately cancelled the visit of an Israeli delegation to Washington scheduled for the next few days.
