UN calls for ceasefire in Gaza

“After five months of brutal conflict and a number of failed attempts,” on Monday the UN Security Council finally passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in

Gaza, say Rachel Pannett and Kelsey

Ables in The Washington Post. The

US vetoed previous resolutions on the grounds that they did not condemn the October attacks by Hamas and over fears they might jeopardise hostage negotiations; China and Russia blocked a US-backed resolution that tied a ceasefire to the release of hostages. This time the resolution included a call to free the hostages, which convinced the US to abstain, and so the resolution was passed. The agreed resolution may appear evenhanded in that it asks for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”, alongside a demand for an immediate ceasefire, says The Wall Street Journal. But the two aren’t explicitly linked. Little wonder, then, that Hamas has “welcomed” the move, while Israel has complained it gives Hamas hope that “international pressure will force Israel to accept a ceasefire without the release of hostages”.

The US decision to abstain is significant given that, with only a handful of exceptions, it has “deployed its veto power more than 40 times to shield Israel” over the past three-quarters of a century, says Flavia KrauseJackson on Bloomberg. Yet the change of direction is no real surprise. The conflict in Gaza is threatening US president Joe Biden’s re-election bid, and the lurch to the right of Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) is imperilling the US vision of a two-state solution. The ongoing conflict has raised the question of who is the boss. The US has “drawn a line”.