Violence escalated between Israel and the Palestinians at the Security Council table Sunday
English - Friday 14 May 2021 الساعة 06:39 pm
NewsYemen, agencies:
Diplomats said the UN Security Council will hold a public session to discuss the escalation of violence between Israel and Palestinian activists on Sunday after reaching a compromise over US objections to a meeting scheduled for Friday.
The diplomats added that the United States had initially suggested the possibility of a virtual public meeting on Tuesday.
"I hope this will give some time for diplomacy to have some influence and to see if we will actually reach a real de-escalation, and we can then follow that up at the United Nations in this context," US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Thursday.
He continued, "We are ready and supportive of a debate, a public debate, at the United Nations."
The Security Council, consisting of 15 member states, met twice this week in two closed sessions to discuss the worst hostilities in the region in years, but it has so far been unable to issue a public statement after the United States objected on the pretext that it believed it "would not be useful."
All council members must also agree to hold a meeting in accordance with the rules governing the virtual sessions of the council during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Concerned that the fighting could spin out of control, the United States will send an envoy to the region.
The armistice efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have so far shown no sign of progress.
"The United States will continue to actively participate in diplomacy at the highest levels to try to de-escalate tensions," Linda Thomas Greenfield, the US representative to the United Nations, said on Twitter after the Sunday meeting was agreed.
For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate calm between the Palestinians and Israelis, in a tweet on Twitter.
Guterres wrote: "Out of respect for the spirit of the holiday, I call for an immediate calm and an end to hostilities in Gaza and Israel."
He concluded by saying, "Many innocent civilians have died ... This conflict will only lead to an increase in extremism and radicalism in the entire region."
Since the start of the events in the Palestinian territories and Israel, Guterres issued several statements expressing his "grave concern about the dangerous escalation in the Palestinian territories and Israel, including the recent escalation in Gaza, which increases tensions and violence in occupied East Jerusalem."
In his latest statement, he stated that he was deeply saddened to learn of the increasing number of victims, including children, due to the Israeli air strikes on Gaza, and the Israeli deaths as a result of rockets fired from Gaza.
