“A good face with a bad game”: will the UN Security Council resolution on Gaza help?

The UN Security Council adopted Malta’s resolution on the Gaza Strip, focusing on the issue of child protection. 12 countries voted for the document; Russia, the US and the UK abstained.

What is contained in the text of the Malta resolution and whether this document can influence the resolution of the conflict in the Middle East is described in the material REN TV.

What does the Malta resolution say?

On November 15, it became known that the UN Security Council had adopted a resolution proposed by Malta. Document focused on the problem of protecting civilians, especially children in the Gaza Strip.

According to the resolution, the UN Security Council “demands from all parties compliance with obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, in particular in the matter of the protection of civilians, especially children”; calls for the announcement of humanitarian pauses and corridors in the Gaza Strip. It is noted that this is necessary to create safe access for the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other humanitarian organizations.

The document calls for the immediate release of all hostages, including children, held by Hamas and other groups.

The Security Council calls on the parties not to deprive the civilian population of the Gaza Strip of access to humanitarian assistance. At the same time, the UN Security Council rejects the forced displacement of civilians, including children.

It is worth noting that the resolution does not condemn the actions of Hamas, which is what the United States sought. The text also does not call for a ceasefire, which Russia has repeatedly advocated.

The UN Security Council did not accept Russia’s amendment

At the same time, the UN Security Council did not accept Russia’s amendment to the Malta resolution. The Russian Federation proposed adding a demand for an immediate and humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip, which would result in a ceasefire in the enclave.

Only the United States voted against this amendment. Russia, China, Brazil, Mozambique, and the United Arab Emirates were in favor. Nine countries abstained.

Commenting on this decision, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Security Council Vasily Nebenzya notedthat the United States, from the very beginning of the aggravation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, constantly thwarted any attempts to create a balanced document with measures to de-escalate the situation.

According to the permanent representative, American colleagues on the Security Council, in fact, justified the collective destruction of Palestinians, including civilians, hiding behind slogans about the fight against terrorism and Israel’s right to self-defense.

Nebenzya said that Russia fears that the provisions of the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council will not be implemented by the parties to the conflict.

“The Council does not even demand that the parties introduce gumpauses, but only calls, which is a mockery of the prerogatives of the Council. Colleagues, it is simply a shame that the Council was able to squeeze out only such a weak call.”said the diplomat.

At the same time, Nebenzya stressed that the priority remains the adoption of a full-fledged UN Security Council document with an unequivocal call for an immediate ceasefire.

Israeli reaction to Malta’s resolution

Israeli Permanent Representative to the UN Gilad Erdan, in turn, called the Malta resolution adopted by the UN Security Council out of touch with reality.

“The Security Council resolution is divorced from reality and meaningless”Erdan wrote on social network X.

The permanent representative noted that Israel will continue to act “in accordance with international law,” regardless of decisions of the UN Security Council.

“A good face on a bad game”

Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Analysis, Faculty of Public Administration, Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov Alexander Konkov drew attention to the fact that the Maltese resolution is one of the few that has recently been adopted regarding Middle Eastern regulation. However, this document will have a short-term effect, the expert believes.

“Of course, this is such a good mine for a bad game, or, rather, the lesser of all evils. The most important thing is that it does not raise the question of resolving the conflict, of a ceasefire once and for all, but raises the question exclusively of humanitarian pauses, which, of course, in conditions of constant hostilities they are a blessing. But at the same time they do not solve the situation, do not bring a lasting solution”– said Konkov in conversation With “Izvestia”.

The political scientist emphasized that the international community is counting primarily on the will of the UN Security Council for a ceasefire as a whole.

Why is there no condemnation of Hamas in the resolution?

Political scientist Yuri Svetov noted that the parties to the conflict are unlikely to listen to the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council, since the problem of protecting children in the context of hostilities is “politicized to the extreme.”

“I would like to hope that she has a chance of being listened to. But these hopes are not great, because the problem of protecting children in a situation of hostilities is politicized to the extreme– said in a conversation with REN TV Svetov. –President of Israel saidthat his concern is the safety of his people. That is, it was almost openly said: “We protect, defend the security of Israel. If other citizens die at the same time, then we will sympathize, but we will continue to bomb everything, including hospitals.”.

The political scientist emphasized that the adopted resolution does not imply any sanctions against Israel.

“How many years has this conflict been going on in the Middle East, and all the resolutions that they tried to pass – not just condemning, but simply encouraging Israel to take into account the opinions of other countries about what is happening with the Palestinians – the Americans have always vetoed. And even the resolutions were not accepted, and there is no need to talk about anything being done at all”,” the expert noted.

At the same time, the Malta resolution does not condemn Hamas. Svetov believes that this is due to the fact that currently it is Palestinian children who are dying from military operations.

“Yes, there were Israeli citizens who died on October 7, but after that children died because of the actions of the Israelis. Apparently, that’s the only reason.”said the political scientist.

According to Svetov, the United States believes that the decision on a complete ceasefire in the Gaza Strip should be up to Israel, since it has the right to protection after the October 7 terrorist attacks.