UN Vote on Gaza Aid delayed as US Talks to Egypt

UNITED NATIONS: A United Nations Security Council vote on a bid to boost aid to the Gaza Strip was delayed for a day on Wednesday hinging on last-minute negotiations between the U.S. and Egypt over a proposal for U.N. aid monitoring as Washington seeks to avoid using its veto power, diplomats said.

While Egypt is not a council member, it borders Gaza and – until the past few days – was the only entry point for aid to the Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people during the two-month long war between Israel and Hamas militants.

Israel inspects all humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza via the Rafah crossing from Egypt, but a Security Council resolution – drafted by the United Arab Emirates and backed by Egypt – essentially aims to dilute Israel’s control.

After more than a week of negotiations and several days of vote delays, diplomats said the U.S. is unhappy that the draft asks U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish a U.N. mechanism in Gaza “to exclusively monitor all humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza provided through land, sea and air routes of those States that are not parties to the conflict.”

The council had initially been due to vote on Monday, Tuesday and then Wednesday.

During a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield asked for a delay to allow for U.S. diplomacy with Egypt. She also raised concerns that the aid monitoring proposal could slow deliveries, diplomats said.

She told the council that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due to speak with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry later on Wednesday, diplomats said. Ecuador’s U.N. Ambassador José Javier De La Gasca, president of the council for December, then postponed the planned vote until Thursday.

“Capitals that have equities in this file are engaging at the highest level of diplomacy to reach a text that will have an impact on the ground. Diplomacy takes time,” UAE Ambassador to the U.N., Lana Nusseibeh, told reporters after the meeting.

Regardless of what the diplomacy yields, she said: “This will go to a vote.”

Source – Reuters