United Nations, US: Representatives from Israel and Arab countries exchanged sharp accusations Thursday at the UN General Assembly, as the body discussed the Israel-Hamas war following the Security Council’s failure to take action.
The matter has exposed deep divisions in the Security Council, with a total of four resolutions gaining insufficient traction or being blocked by a veto in less than two weeks.
Arab countries are hoping that the General Assembly, which has a different power balance and where no country holds a veto, will be able to act, even if any resolution would be nonbinding.
But the back-and-forth Thursday remained in attack mode, with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who spoke on behalf of 22 Arab countries, accusing Israel of “making Gaza a perpetual hell on Earth.”
“The trauma will haunt generations to come,” he said, adding that “the right to self defense is not a license to kill with impunity. Collective punishment is not self defense, it is a war crime.”
Israel’s relentless bombardment was launched on October 7 in retaliation for the Hamas attack which Israeli officials say killed 1,400 people. More than 200 others were kidnapped.
The strikes, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, have killed more than 7,000 people — a toll expected to rise substantially if Israeli troops massed near the border move into the Palestinian territory.
“To stop this madness, you have a chance to do something, to give an important signal. Choose justice, not vengeance,” said Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour.
Jordan has circulated a draft resolution that is still under discussion, which is meant to be put to vote on Friday.
The text focuses largely on the humanitarian situation, calling for an “immediate cease-fire” and “unhindered humanitarian access” to the Gaza Strip.
It also calls on all parties to comply with the “protection of civilians,” but makes no mention of the Hamas attack.
Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan blasted the text.
“The drafters of the resolution claim to be concerned about peace,” he said. “Yet the depraved murderers who initiated this war are not even mentioned in the resolution.”
“The only place this resolution belongs is in the dustbin of history,” he added.
Accusations over Israel-Hamas war at UN General Assembly
https://arab.news/mtt99
Accusations over Israel-Hamas war at UN General Assembly
- Israel’s relentless bombardment was launched on October 7 in retaliation for the Hamas attack
- Jordan has circulated a draft resolution that is still under discussion
Sudan PM heads to New York for UN talks
- Sudan’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said last week he was ready to work with Trump to resolve the conflict
PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris left for New York on Saturday to meet the UN chief and other officials and discuss humanitarian access and a possible ceasefire, two government sources said.
The trip comes as fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces, which erupted in April 2023, intensifies in southern Kordofan, raising fears of new atrocities similar to those reported in the city of El-Fasher in late October.
Reports of mass killings, rape, and abductions followed the RSF’s capture of the army’s last stronghold in the western
Darfur region.
A Sudanese government source said Idris was expected to meet UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “put an end to the worsening humanitarian crisis” in Sudan.
Idris’ adviser, Mohammed Abdel Qader, also said the talks would focus on “facilitating aid access” and reaffirm the government’s commitment to a roadmap handed over to the UN, including a “conditional ceasefire linked to the withdrawal of the RSF from areas and cities it occupies.”
Earlier this month, Guterres said the United Nations was preparing talks with both sides in Geneva, but did not specify a date.
Renewed hopes for diplomacy emerged last month when US President Donald Trump pledged to help end the conflict.
Sudan’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said last week he was ready to work with Trump to resolve the conflict.
The RSF says it supports the international ceasefire plan, but heavy fighting continues, notably in Kordofan.
Egypt, a key ally of Sudan’s army, warned on Thursday that escalating violence “directly affects Egyptian national security” and stressed that preserving Sudanese state institutions remains a “red line.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the new year offered a chance for a humanitarian truce in Sudan and urged external countries to use leverage.
“Ninety-nine percent of our focus is this humanitarian truce and achieving that as soon as possible,” Rubio told a news conference.
“And we think that the new year and the upcoming holidays are a great opportunity for both sides to agree to that, and we’re really pushing very hard in that regard,” he said.
Rubio voiced alarm at new reports that humanitarian convoys have been struck.
“What’s happening there is horrifying. It’s atrocious,” he said.
“One day, the story of what’s actually happened there is going to be known, and everyone involved is going to look bad,” he added.
“We’re hopeful that we can make some progress on this, but we know that in order to make progress on this, it will require outside actors to use their leverage,” Rubio said.
