Arab League calls for Gaza ceasefire to be upheld
The Arab League called on the UN to uphold its Israel-Gaza ceasefire resolution on March 26th, according to Arab News and agencies.
The March 25th Security Council resolution demands an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s Iran-backed Hamas paramilitary group for what remains of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as-well-as the expansion of the flow of aid into the besieged enclave.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the decision came after a after over “five months of barbaric and brutal Israeli aggression against the people of the Gaza Strip,” and underscored the need to enforce the resolution by halting Israeli aggression immediately and entirely.
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Aboul Gheit also stressed the importance of facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza via conventional land routes to avert the looming threat of famine in the besieged enclave.
The general-secretary’s spokesperson, Gamal Rushdi, said the resolution “signals a notable shift in the international stance on the aggressive warfare in Gaza, including the US stance, which opted not to exercise its veto power.”
Rushdi added that the next phase of the conflict “necessitates concerted international efforts to translate this resolution into tangible actions aimed at ending bloodshed, holding the occupation accountable, and ensuring justice for its crimes.”
The US, whose veto power Tel Aviv has historically counted on, abstained from the vote angering Israel’s administration. The remaining 14 Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution.
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Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu later accused the US of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the ceasefire on the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, according to AP.
US ambassador to the UN, John Kirby, claimed his administration chose to abstain from the vote because the resolution did not condemn Hamas but that it “does fairly reflect our view that a ceasefire and the release of hostages come together.”
The Arab League’s legislative Arab Parliament said that, despite the resolution’s delay and limited timeframe, it was “a step in the right direction to stop the aggression completely and sustainably,” while echoing Gheit’s call for intensified international efforts to secure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The parliament called for an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Arab News / AP / Agencies
