By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on Monday on a drafted resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution was put forward by non-permanent members of the Council, which negotiated with the United States in an attempt to avoid another veto, according to diplomatic sources cited by Agence France-Presse. 

According to AFP, the diplomats expressed some optimism regarding the outcome of the vote. “We expect, barring a last-minute twist, that the resolution will be adopted and that the United States will not vote against it,” one diplomat reportedly told the Agency.

‘Typical Hypocritical Spectacle’ – US Gaza Resolution Vetoed by China, Russia

According to the version seen by AFP on Sunday, the new text “demands an immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing month of Ramadan, which should lead to a “permanent sustainable ceasefire.”

It also reportedly “demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages as well as the “lifting of all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale.”

Previous Attempts

Last Friday, Russia and China vetoed a US draft UN Security Council resolution which conditioned the ceasefire in Gaza to “immediate” release of all “remaining hostages” currently held in Gaza. 

Russia’s Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that the US was trying to “sell a product” to the UNSC by using the term “imperative” without demanding a ceasefire.

“We have observed a typical hypocritical spectacle,” he said.

Nebenzia added that “there was no call for a ceasefire in the text, accusing US leadership of ‘deliberately misleading the international community’,” the report added. 

‘This is What We Want’ – Palestinians in Gaza React to UN Resolution, Russian Veto

For his part, China’s envoy Zhang Jun said that the Council should call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, adding that too much time has been wasted in this regard.

Beijing’s representative also said that China will support a new draft resolution that is already circulating and that “is clear on the issue of a ceasefire and is in line with the correct direction of the Council action and is of great relevance.”

Since the start of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza last October 7, Washington has used its veto power against three draft resolutions, two of which called for an immediate ceasefire.

The resolution requires approval by at least nine votes and no veto from any of the five permanent member states – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, and China.

Gaza Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.  

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 32,226 Palestinians have been killed, and 74,518 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

 Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Israeli Attacks on Gaza – Targeting Hospitals, Rising Death Toll

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’

(The Palestine Chronicle)