The Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, demanded during an emergency meeting held by the UN Security Council on Thursday, the issuance of a resolution calling for a ceasefire following the killing of 110 Palestinians during a relief distribution operation in northern Gaza, according to a tally by the health ministry in the territory.
Mansour told reporters, “This brutal massacre is proof that as long as the Security Council is paralyzed and vetoes are imposed, Palestinians pay with their lives.”
His statement came after the United States used its veto power last week for the third time to block a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The Palestinian Ambassador added, “I met (U.S. Ambassador) Linda Thomas-Greenfield this morning,” indicating that he “pleaded with her” for the council to “condemn this massacre.”
He continued, “The Security Council must say enough is enough,” adding, “If they have the courage and determination to prevent these massacres from recurring, what we need is a ceasefire.”
At Algeria’s request, the Security Council convened on Thursday afternoon in a closed session to discuss the events that occurred on Thursday morning in northern Gaza. The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, expressed his “shock” at these events, which he condemned, calling for an “effective independent investigation” to determine the circumstances and those responsible.
Algeria presented to the UN Security Council a draft presidential statement expressing the “deep concern” of the 15 Security Council members regarding the events.
According to the text seen by “Agence France-Presse,” the draft statement attributes responsibility for the events to “the Israeli forces that opened fire.”
However, the text did not pass because the adoption of presidential statements is only by consensus.
Mansour said after the meeting, “14 members supported this text.”
A diplomatic source stated that the United States voted against the text, refusing to attribute responsibility for the events to Israel.
The source explained that discussions in the corridors of the Security Council would continue in an attempt to reach a consensus.
The U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, said, “Parties are working on the wording to see if we can come to a statement,” indicating the possibility of reaching an agreement on this matter later.
He added, “The problem is that we do not have all the facts” regarding what happened in the early hours of Thursday in the northern Palestinian territory.
The American diplomat affirmed that his country is seeking a formula that ensures “all necessary verifications have been conducted regarding responsibility” for the events.
The French Ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere, said, “The humanitarian situation for civilians in Gaza is deteriorating day by day. We are now facing an unprecedented disaster.”
He added, “This is not the first time I remind: the Security Council must assume all its responsibilities,” calling again for “an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons.”
