Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
Arab nations and the Palestinians are pushing for a UN Security Council resolution that demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Asked to respond to Israel and Hamas saying they don’t want a ceasefire following the Israeli killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, told reporters Friday that the decision isn’t up to them.
“It is not up to the fighting parties to dictate upon all of us their wishes and their activities, ... especially Israel,” he said. “It is the duty of the Security Council to say, `We demand an immediate ceasefire and compliance by all parties, and we demand that to take place, for example, within 24 hours or within 48 hours.”
Mansour said it should not be “taboo” for the Security Council to draft a resolution under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which would make it militarily enforceable.
Mansour was speaking after he and 10 Arab ambassadors met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Palestinian ambassador said they discussed a leaked proposal from Israeli generals to declare northern Gaza a military zone and seal it off, which he said would threaten 400,000 Palestinians there with death or starvation.
Mansour expressed hope that the often divided Security Council has “the spine and the strength and the determination” to stop that from happening and demand an immediate cease-fire and the delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza, “and to allow for opening a door to a political horizon.”
