The United States (US) on Saturday (21/10) proposed a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UN) underlining that Israel has the right to defend itself. The draft resolution also demands that Iran stop its practice of exporting weapons to “militias and terrorist groups that threaten peace and security throughout the region.”
The text of the draft resolution, seen by Reuters, calls for the protection of civilians, including those seeking safety. It also said that countries must comply with international law when responding to “terrorist attacks”, and urged “sustainable, adequate and unimpeded” action regarding the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip.
It is not yet clear if or when the US plans to vote on the draft resolution. The draft resolution can only pass if it manages to get at least nine votes in favor and there are no vetoes from Russia, China, the US, France or the UK.
The US move came after the country vetoed Brazil’s draft resolution on Wednesday calling for a humanitarian pause or ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas so that aid access to Gaza could be opened.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the veto was to buy time for diplomacy on the ground when President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region. Currently, Washington is still focusing on efforts to open aid access to Gaza and free hostages held by Hamas.
The US draft resolution does not call for a pause or ceasefire. However, it called on all countries to work to stop “violence in Gaza from escalating or spilling over into other areas of the region, including by demanding an immediate halt to all attacks by Hezbollah and other armed groups.”
Palestinians search for survivors after the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip in Deir Al-Balah, Sunday, October 22, 2023. (Photo: AP)
Self defense
The US draft resolution also demands that Iran stop supplying weapons to groups that threaten peace and security in the region, including Hamas. Iran’s UN mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran has made no secret of its support for Hamas, both in the form of funding and arming the group, and even another Palestinian militant organization, Islamic Jihad. Iran’s UN mission said on October 8 that Tehran was not involved in Hamas’ attacks on Israel.
Thomas-Greenfield said Wednesday that the US was disappointed that Brazil’s draft resolution did not mention Israel’s right to self-defense. Meanwhile, the US draft resolution states that Israel has this right based on Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Article 51 includes the individual or collective right of states to defend themselves against armed attacks and states must immediately notify the 15-member Security Council of the measures they will take to defend themselves against armed attacks.
In a letter sent to the UNSC, when Hamas began carrying out devastating attacks on October 7, Israel emphasized that it would “act by any means necessary to protect its citizens and sovereignty from terrorist attacks originating from the Gaza Strip.” But they do not appear to have officially invoked Article 51, diplomats said.
Arab countries argue that Israel cannot justify its actions as self-defense.
Rows of buildings in the northern Gaza Strip on October 22, 2023, amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas. (Photo: AFP)
“The Gaza Strip is occupied territory,” Jordan’s UN Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud told the council on Monday, citing an International Court of Justice opinion in 2004 regarding Israel’s separation wall being built around the West Bank.
Israel said in 2004 that the barrier was intended to prevent suicide bombers from entering its cities. The UN’s judicial body, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), said Israel “states that the threats they see as justification for building the wall come from within, and not from outside, the region.”
“As a result, the Court concludes that Article 51 of the Charter has no relevance in this case,” he ruled. Israel rejects the ICJ decision. (ah/ft)