UN Security Council Rejects Russian Resolution on Israel-Hamas Conflict

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya at the UN Security Council meeting on Monday, October 16, 2023/Net

 Russia had to swallow its disappointment, after a resolution to condemn acts of violence in the Middle East was rejected by the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

In that forum, only four countries agreed with Russia's resolution. Meanwhile, the United States and three other countries refused. The remaining six countries chose to abstain.

This rejection was allegedly because the resolution proposed by Russia did not directly name Hamas as the perpetrator of the surprise attack on Israel which killed at least 1,400 people. Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said that despite failing to gain majority approval, the resolution had prompted the council to take action. "This has contributed to the launch of substantive discussions in the Security Council on this topic. Without our encouragement, everything might have been limited to empty discussions," Nebenzia said. Meanwhile, Brazil's resolution unequivocally condemning the Islamist group appears to have wider support, and is expected to be voted on later Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said the council had a moral obligation to act in an effort to contain Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip which he said was claiming 12 lives every hour. “Don't give the signal that Palestinian lives don't matter,” he said.

He said that the attack on Gaza was a major military attack, which could be said to be a mass massacre.

"Don't you dare say Israel is not responsible for the bombs it dropped on their heads," he concluded.