The UN Security Council voted on Friday, December 22 to approve a United Arab Emirates-sponsored resolution demanding a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war, with 13 current member nations voting in favor, none against, and the US and Russia abstaining.
An earlier attempt to vote on the matter on Monday, December 18 was delayed to try to avoid another veto from the United States, Fox News revealed.
The approved resolution called for "urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities."
It also demanded that all parties involved in the conflict "comply with their obligations under international law," specifically the protection of civilians, call for "urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip," and call for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."
Unlike General Assembly resolutions, Security Council resolutions are legally binding, however, parties in practice might ignore the will of the Council.
US, Russia Abstain Voting on Resolution
Previously, the US vetoed a Security Council ceasefire resolution that was widely supported by all council members and other member nations. US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood maintained that Washington wanted to see peace between Israelis and Palestinians but was critical of how the resolution would go about it.
"It would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7," he told a Security Council session earlier this month. "Colleagues, a senior Hamas official recently stated the group intends to repeat the vile acts of Oct. 7, quote, 'again and again and again,' unquote. And yet this resolution essentially says Israel should just tolerate this, that it should allow this terror to go unchecked."
During the voting, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield criticized that the resolution was passed without denouncing Hamas over the October 7 attacks.
"Ultimately, while we are encouraged that the council spoke out on this humanitarian crisis we're deeply disappointed - appalled, actually - that once again, the council was not able to condemn Hamas for the horrific terrorist attack [it perpetrated] on October 7," she said.
As of writing, it is unclear why Russia also abstained from voting.
