Faced with the intensifying conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, the UN Security Council will hold a public virtual meeting on Sunday at 4 p.m. KST on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said Thursday. May, diplomats. The United States, which had refused an emergency meeting on Friday and proposed that it be held on Tuesday, “Agreed to move the meeting forward to Sunday”, said a diplomat.
The session was requested by Tunisia, Norway and China. The UN envoy for the Middle East, the Norwegian Tor Wennesland, as well as representatives of Israel and the Palestinians are expected to attend.
The secretary general of the organization, Antonio Guterres, invoking “The spirit of Eid”, at called Thursday evening at “An immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities in Gaza and Israel”.
Macron “concerned about the escalation of violence”
For his part, the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, said “Concerned about the escalation of violence in the Middle East” and “Determined to work with all parties to put an end to it as quickly as possible”.
In a statement, the Elysee Palace said that the French president had spoken with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, asking him in particular to use “Of all the means of his influence so that calm is restored as quickly as possible”. Mr. Macron is also due to meet with the Israeli prime minister soon.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured the press in Washington that the United States was “Favorable” for a meeting to take place ” At the beginning of next week “. “I hope this will give diplomacy a little time to bring results and see if we get a real de-escalation”, said the official, who had dispatched an envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Territories the day before.
Washington calls on Americans to avoid going to Israel
The US State Department also called on US nationals on Thursday to “Avoid going to Israel” because of the surge in violence of the last few days between Israelis and Palestinians. The level of travel warning, which had been lowered in recent weeks in favor of the improvement in the health situation linked to the pandemic in the Hebrew state, was raised from second to third in four notches.
Since Monday, the United States has accepted two closed-door and urgent videoconferences on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but refused two joint statements calling for an end to hostilities, ruling them “Counterproductive” at this stage.
The holding of virtual meetings, a common practice at the UN since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, requires a consensus among the fifteen members of the Security Council. Friday’s meeting was requested by ten out of fifteen Council members (Tunisia, Norway, China, Ireland, Estonia, France, United Kingdom, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Niger and Vietnam).
In its positions since the start of the conflict, the United States has reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket fire from the Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, but also called for de-escalation. They also called on Israel to do “Everything possible to avoid civilian casualties”.
