By Manal Abdel Fattah
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that the United States abstained from voting on Resolution No. 2728 in the UN Security Council, following the Russian and Chinese veto against a comprehensive draft resolution in the Council, and reaffirms the US position on the necessity of a ceasefire for any period within an agreement.
On the release of hostages in Gaza.
He added, during a statement issued by the US State Department spokesman’s office: We do not agree with all the provisions contained in the text of the resolution, but the amendments introduced by the sponsors of the resolution during the past few days are in line with our principled position that the text related to the ceasefire must be accompanied by a text regarding Release of hostages.
The minister continued: This resolution explicitly acknowledges the painstaking and ongoing negotiations being conducted by the governments of Egypt, Israel, Qatar, and the United States to achieve this release in the context of a ceasefire, which would also create space to increase the amount of life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and build something more sustainable.
He added: We were not able to support the final text because it does not include basic phrases that we consider necessary, especially in terms of condemning Hamas, as it is difficult for us to understand the issue of not condemning Hamas, especially after days of the world watching again the horrific attacks committed by terrorist groups.
He said: We reaffirm the need to accelerate the provision of humanitarian aid through all available methods, land, sea and air, and to ensure the sustainability of this aid, and we continue discussions with our partners on the way to establishing a Palestinian state with effective security guarantees for Israel in order to establish peace and security in the long term.
He continued: We are working very closely with our Arab partners to achieve these important results, and my most recent visits to the region reflected that. We are also working with Israel to ensure that what happened on October 7 is not repeated, to meet its security needs, and to achieve greater integration within a safer and more prosperous region.
The Minister indicated that there is consensus on these priorities, namely a ceasefire, the release of hostages, increasing humanitarian aid, and reaching a clear path towards the future. Most importantly, there is a growing consensus on the steps necessary to achieve these priorities, and we will continue our close cooperation with our regional partners to achieve these common goals.
