On Sunday, a large number of UN Security Council members condemned Hamas for its fierce attack on Israel, but the United States lamented that there was not universal agreement.
The Palestinian Islamists who control the blockaded Gaza Strip and launched a surprise attack and kidnapping operation on Saturday were strongly condemned during an emergency session by the United States.
“There are a good number of countries that condemned the Hamas attacks. They’re obviously not all,” senior US diplomat Robert Wood told reporters after the closed-door session.
“You could probably figure out one of them without me saying anything,” said Wood, in a clear allusion to Russia, whose relations with the West have deteriorated sharply since its invasion of Ukraine.
According to diplomats, the Security Council members, lead by Russia, hoped for a wider focus than just denouncing Hamas, therefore no unified statement, much less a binding resolution, was taken into consideration.
“My message was to stop the fighting immediately and to go to a ceasefire and to meaningful negotiations, which was told for decades” by the Security Council, said Vassily Nebenzia, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations.
“This is partly the result of unresolved issues,” he said.
China, generally Russia’s ally at the Security Council, said it would support a joint statement.
“It’s abnormal that the Security Council doesn’t say anything,” said Ambassador Zhang Jun, who earlier promised Chinese support for a condemnation of “all attacks against civilians.”
Ahead of the session, Israel’s ambassador, Gilad Erdan, showed graphic pictures of Israeli civilians being taken captive by Hamas.
“These are war crimes blatant, documented war crimes,” Erdan told reporters outside of the Security Council.
“This unimaginable unimaginable atrocity must be condemned,” he said of the Security Council.
“Israel must be given steadfast support to defend ourselves to defend the free world.”
The Palestinian envoy, who speaks for the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank rather than the rival Hamas, urged the Security Council to prioritize putting an end to Israeli occupation.
“Regrettably, history for some media and politicians starts when Israelis are killed,” said the envoy, Riyad Mansour.
“This is not a time to let Israel double-down on its terrible choices. This is a time to tell Israel it needs to change course, that there is a path to peace where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed.”
Israel and the Palestinian Authority are not currently Security Council members, hence they were not present at the meeting behind closed doors.
The United Arab Emirates’ delegate anticipated additional Security Council discussions on the crisis because his country recently repaired relations with Israel as part of a historic agreement.
“I think everyone understands that today the situation is one of grave concern,” said the UAE ambassador, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh.
“Many members of the Council believe that a political horizon leading to a two-state solution is the only way to finally solve this conflict,” she said.
