Russia, China veto US resolution at UN Security Council over its failure to ‘unequivocally’ call for Gaza ceasefire

Update The UN Security Council meets to consider a motion for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal vote at UN headquarters in New York, on March 22, 2024. (AFP)
The UN Security Council meets to consider a motion for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal vote at UN headquarters in New York, on March 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 22 March 2024
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Russia, China veto US resolution at UN Security Council over its failure to ‘unequivocally’ call for Gaza ceasefire

Russia, China veto US resolution at UN Security Council over its failure to ‘unequivocally’ call for Gaza ceasefire
  • US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield describes vetoes as ‘cynical and petty’
  • Guyanese envoy Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett says text contains ‘no attribution or demands to the Israeli authorities for what is taking place in Gaza’

NEW YORK: Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-backed draft resolution at the UN Security Council on Gaza, with Moscow rejecting what it described as a “diluted formulation” of a ceasefire call that will not save Palestinian lives and fails to rein in Israel at a time when the enclave “has been virtually wiped off the face of the earth.”
Without directly calling for a ceasefire, the text “determines the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and alleviate humanitarian suffering, and toward that end unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”
The draft also condemns Hamas, demands the lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale, and rejects any forced displacement of the civilian population in Gaza as a violation of international law.
Its text, seen by Arab News, had undergone six revisions during a month of negotiations.
Russia and China exercised their vetoes, while Algeria also voted against and Guyana abstained. The other 11 Security Council members voted in favor, including permanent members France and Britain.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield described Russia and China’s vetoes as “cynical” and “petty,” accusing both of “not doing anything diplomatically to advance lasting peace or to meaningfully contribute to the humanitarian response efforts.”
She said: “Russia and China refuse to condemn Hamas for burning people alive, for gunning down innocent civilians at a concert, for raping women and girls, for taking hundreds of people hostage. This was the deadliest single attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and a permanent member of this council can’t even condemn it. I’m sorry, it’s really outrageous, and it’s below the dignity of this body.
“Russia, who has carried out an unprovoked war on its neighbor, has the audacity and hypocrisy to throw stones, when it lives in a glass house itself.”
Her Russian counterpart, Vasily Nebenzia, said the US four times “in cold blood” cast a veto in the Security Council.
“Six months have elapsed. Gaza has virtually been wiped from the earth and now the US representative, without blinking, has been asserting that Washington has finally begun to recognize the need for a ceasefire,” he said.
Nebenzia said that “this sluggish thought process in Washington has come at the cost of the lives of 32,000 peaceful Palestinians, two-thirds of whom are women and children.”
He added that the draft is “extremely politicized,” adding that its purpose is to throw “a bone to US voters in the form of some kind of a ceasefire in Gaza,” and “to ensure impunity for Israel, whose crimes are not mentioned in the draft.”
The Russian envoy also said that the draft gave “an effective green light” to Israel to mount a military incursion into Rafah, where over 1.4 million Palestinian have taken refuge.
Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the UN, said the US draft was ambiguous on the “most central issue,” that of a ceasefire, and so fell short of the consensus of council members and the expectations of the international community.
“The US draft sets up preconditions for a ceasefire, which is no different from giving a green light to continued killings, which is unacceptable,” Zhang said.
The Chinese envoy added that the US text does not clearly oppose Israel’s repeated declarations of its intent to invade Rafah, “which would send an utterly wrong signal and lead to severe consequences.”
Zhang said that if the US is serious about a ceasefire, it should vote for a new resolution tabled by seven elected members of the council and calling unequivocally for a Ramadan ceasefire. A vote on the resolution is set to take place on Saturday morning.
Guyana’s Ambassador to the UN, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, abstained from voting, and said that the demand for a ceasefire should not be linked to or conditioned on the release of Israeli hostages.
“The taking of hostages is strictly prohibited in international law and the release must be unconditional.”
Two wrongs cannot make a right, she said, adding that “the Palestinian people should not be collectively punished and themselves held hostage for the crime of others.”
Rodrigues-Birkett said that although the US draft resolution “rightfully’ condemns Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, the text contains “no attribution or demands to the Israeli authorities for what is taking place in Gaza.”
Referring to Rafah, she said the US draft endorses continuing attacks “as long as measures are taken to protect civilians,” adding that this is “in direct contravention of the council’s responsibility.”
Samuel Zbogar, Slovenia’s ambassador, said his country voted in favor of the resolution because “the killing and starving of civilians in Gaza must stop and the suffering of hostages and their families must end.”
Zbogar thanked Egypt, Qatar and the US for their efforts to secure a deal on the ground, and said that Slovenia believes that a “strong signal of support from the council” could give negotiations an important impetus.
He also expressed deep concern over statements by Israeli officials calling for the resettlement of the people of Gaza, and rejected a possible ground invasion in Rafah.
“For Slovenia, Palestinian lives matter. Israeli lives matter. This conflict must end.”
Swiss Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl voted in favor of the resolution, but argued for its content “to clearly reflect the request by a very large majority of council members for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to be established without any preconditions.
“It is high time for an unequivocal request for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to be subject of consensus at the Security Council,” Baeriswyl said.


Yemeni minister calls for arrest of Houthi officials attending Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s funeral

Yemeni minister calls for arrest of Houthi officials attending Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s funeral
Updated 20 February 2025
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Yemeni minister calls for arrest of Houthi officials attending Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s funeral

Yemeni minister calls for arrest of Houthi officials attending Hezbollah chief Nasrallah’s funeral
  • The Houthis did not officially announce a delegation was attending the funeral, but the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported a delegation from Yemen would participate

CAIRO: Yemeni Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani called on Wednesday for the arrest of a group of leaders from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis who he said will attend Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral in Beirut.
Nasrallah, who had served as Hezbollah’s secretary general for more than 30 years, was killed on September 27 as Israel ramped up its attacks on southern Lebanon. His funeral is scheduled for February 23.
Eryani demanded that the Lebanese government arrest the Houthi leaders and hand them over to the rival internationally recognized government in a post on X.
He did not name the Houthi officials.
Neither the Lebanese government nor Houthi leaders was immediately available for comment.
The Houthis did not officially announce a delegation was attending the funeral, but the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported a delegation from Yemen would participate. “We affirm that the movement of these terrorist leaders... in this timing is not a mere participation in the funeral, which is being used as a cover, to gather all the leaders of the Iranian axis and assess the situation after the blows they received,” he added.
The Yemeni minister was referring to the recent Israeli attacks against Iran-backed groups in the region including Hezbollah and the Houthis.
Both groups launched parallel attacks against Israel during its war in Gaza to show support for Palestinians.
The Houthis, who control northern Yemen, also carried out more than 100 attacks on ships off the shores of Yemen since November 2023, disrupting global shipping and causing route changes and losses.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023 killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, laid waste to much of the enclave, and displaced hundreds of thousands.


Sudan crisis could worsen if paramilitaries declare parallel govt: UN

Sudan crisis could worsen if paramilitaries declare parallel govt: UN
Updated 20 February 2025
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Sudan crisis could worsen if paramilitaries declare parallel govt: UN

Sudan crisis could worsen if paramilitaries declare parallel govt: UN

UNITED NATIONS: The crisis in Sudan could worsen if paramilitary forces fighting the army go ahead with plans to declare a parallel government, the United Nations warned Wednesday.
“For us, preserving the unity of Sudan, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity, remains a key ingredient for a sustainable resolution of the conflict,” the UN secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
At a high-profile event in Nairobi this week, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the Sudanese army for nearly two years, said they would sign a founding charter that would lead to the formation of a “peace and unity government” in Sudan.
Initially scheduled for Tuesday at Nairobi’s state-owned Kenyatta International Convention Center, the signing was postponed to Friday.
“We’re very deeply concerned about any further escalation of the Sudanese conflict, and any steps like this one, which would increase the fragmentation of the country and risk making this crisis even worse,” Dujarric said of the planned proclamation.
Sudan’s foreign ministry, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, criticized Kenya for allowing the event.
Since April 2023, the war between the army and RSF has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.


Israel says 3 Palestinian militants killed in West Bank

Israel says 3 Palestinian militants killed in West Bank
Updated 20 February 2025
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Israel says 3 Palestinian militants killed in West Bank

Israel says 3 Palestinian militants killed in West Bank
  • A Palestinian official confirmed that three people had been killed by Israeli forces

JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it killed three “wanted terrorists” in the occupied West Bank Wednesday, and a Palestinian official reported that Israeli forces were holding the bodies of three people.
Soldiers “eliminated three wanted terrorists in the area of Al Faraa, who sold weapons for terror purposes,” the military said in a statement.
“Two additional wanted individuals were apprehended.”
A Palestinian official confirmed that three people had been killed by Israeli forces.
“Three people were assassinated, and their bodies are being held” by the Israeli forces, Tubas governor Ahmad Al-Asaad told AFP.
Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has escalated since the October 2023 outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip.
At least 897 Palestinians including militants have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began, according to an AFP tally based on figures provided by the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.
At least 32 Israelis, including some soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or confrontations during Israeli operations in the West Bank over the same period, according to official Israeli figures.


Two jailed for 18 years over tower block collapse in Turkiye quake

Two jailed for 18 years over tower block collapse in Turkiye quake
Updated 19 February 2025
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Two jailed for 18 years over tower block collapse in Turkiye quake

Two jailed for 18 years over tower block collapse in Turkiye quake
  • There were 22 such blocks in the complex, nearly all of which collapsed when the first 7.8-magnitude tremor struck before dawn on Feb. 6, 2023, killing 1,400 people
  • Wednesday’s verdict related to the collapse of Block B where 115 people died

ISTANBUL: Two senior figures involved in the construction of a part a huge Turkish residential complex that collapsed in the 2023 earthquake have been jailed for more than 18 years, local media reported Wednesday.
The case concerned an eight-story tower block at the Ebrar complex in the southeastern city of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye’s private NTV broadcaster said.
There were 22 such blocks in the complex, nearly all of which collapsed when the first 7.8-magnitude tremor struck before dawn on Feb. 6, 2023, killing 1,400 people.
Wednesday’s verdict related to the collapse of Block B where 115 people died, NTV said, with the judge handing senior contractor Tevfik Tepebasi and Atilla Oz, head of the cooperative that built the block, 18 years and eight months each for “causing death and injury through conscious negligence.”
There were four other defendants in the case, three of whom were acquitted for lack of evidence, while the fourth was being tried in absentia, NTV said.
Tepebasi — who was jailed shortly after the quake and is being prosecuted in several other quake-related cases — caused an uproar at one hearing a year ago when he told the court he should not be charged with a crime because: “I don’t know anything about construction.”
Quoted by NTV, several of the victims’ families said they were not satisfied with the sentences and the fact that three defendants were acquitted, saying they would appeal.
The earthquake killed more than 53,500 people in Turkiye and nearly 6,000 in neighboring Syria. It also razed 39,000 buildings and left another 200,000 severely damaged, leaving nearly two million people homeless.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed the finger at negligent building contractors, accusing them of cutting corners by using cheap concrete and ignoring basic construction standards, with more than 200 contractors and developers arrested in the immediate aftermath of the quake.
But there have been few, if any, investigations into the public officials who signed off on building permits and safety inspections, which can only be opened with the interior ministry’s permission.


Israel hostage forum says news of Bibas family deaths ‘heart-shattering’

Israel hostage forum says news of Bibas family deaths ‘heart-shattering’
Updated 19 February 2025
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Israel hostage forum says news of Bibas family deaths ‘heart-shattering’

Israel hostage forum says news of Bibas family deaths ‘heart-shattering’
  • Israeli authorities have confirmed that the remains of four hostages are due to be returned Thursday, though they have not officially identified them

JERUSALEM: An Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages held in Gaza said it had received the “heart-shattering” news of the deaths of three members of the Bibas family whose bodies Hamas said it would hand over on Thursday.
“We received the heart-shattering news that Shiri Bibas, her children Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz are no longer with us,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement Wednesday, also naming the fourth hostage declared dead.
“This news cuts like a knife through our hearts, the families’ hearts and the hearts of people all over the world.”
On Tuesday, Hamas said it would hand over the bodies of four hostages, including the three Bibas family members, as part of the ongoing first phase of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
While their deaths are largely accepted as fact abroad after Hamas said they were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war, Israel has never confirmed the claim.
Yarden Bibas, the boys’ father and Shiri’s husband, was abducted separately on October 7, 2023 and was released from Gaza in a previous hostage-prisoner exchange on February 1.
Israeli authorities have confirmed that the remains of four hostages are due to be returned Thursday, though they have not officially identified them.