UN Security Council delays vote on proposal on Palestinians
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The UN Security Council could vote as soon as Friday on an Arab-backed resolution that asks the UN chief to propose measures to ensure "international protection" for Palestinian civilians.
A vote on the measures—which comes after weeks of urgent discussions but no agreement on any action about escalating violence in Gaza—was at one point scheduled for Thursday evening, but diplomats said it has been postponed until Friday or possibly later.
The Kuwait-sponsored draft resolution "deplores" and demands a halt to "the use of any excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force" by the Israeli military, while it also "deplores the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israeli civilian areas."
The United States has strongly indicated during negotiations on the resolution that it would veto the measure. Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, also sharply criticized it for not mentioning Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza.
The Security Council has been deeply divided and paralyzed over dealing with the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After a series of emergency meetings about Gaza—the latest just Wednesday—the UN's most powerful body so far hasn't been able to agree even on a press statement.
The draft resolution expresses "grave concern" at the escalation of violence and tensions and the deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories, especially since the start of a series of mass protests at the Gaza border on March 30.
