Israel-Palestine: the Security Council meets to study the Palestinian request for accession to the UN

He Security Council met this Monday to discuss Palestine's accession application in closed-door consultations. At noon, another open-door meeting took place in which it was decided to send the request to the Admissions Committee, made up of representatives of the 15 countries, which will analyze the request.

Delegates to the 15-member body are studying the request, which dates back to 2011, following a new written request submitted last week by Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister and Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, Riyad Mansour.

“The (Admissions) Committee has to deliberate within the month of April and we all recognize that any member of the Council can decide to present an accession resolution for a vote at any time, as is the procedure of the Council,” said the ambassador of Malta, Vanessa Frazier, who holds the rotating presidency of the Council.

If the committee issues a unanimous recommendation there would be a vote that requires at least nine votes in favor and no veto from the five permanent members with veto rights: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia.

In 2011, in Palestine's first attempt, there were several meetings of that committee. They ended up not giving a unanimous recommendation on the recognition of Palestine, so the Council did not vote on that occasion.

Later, the General Assembly granted it the status of “observer non-member state”, the same as the Holy See, by 138 votes in favor, 9 against (including Israel, the United States and Canada) and 41 abstentions.

Uncertain return

Simultaneously, six months after the start of an unprecedented Israeli military response to Hamas-led attacks, former residents of Khan Younis, north of Rafah, are already returning to their ruined town, a move against which of aid they warned, given the absence of stored supplies.

“Planning is underway for a raid on Rafah, which could displace up to 800,000 people,” said Jamie McGoldrick, current humanitarian coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in an exclusive interview with UN News.

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«We struggle to position enough material, non-food items, shelter, material and water in advance (…) we really don't have the capacity and the resources and the ability right now. “We are fighting to be prepared.”

The veteran official reiterated that 500 trucks a day need to enter Gaza, where food insecurity experts warned that famine could strike “at any time.”

To increase the level of humanitarian aid reaching the enclave, the UN has supported calls to reopen the Israeli port of Ashdod, just north of Gaza, and to allow more aid to access through Jordan.

The Nicaragua case against Germany begins

Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice began this Monday the procedure initiated by Nicaragua to stop Germany's military aid to Israel.

On behalf of Nicaragua, Carlos José Argüello Gómez alleged that Germany “fails to fulfill its own obligation to prevent genocide or to guarantee respect for international humanitarian law.”

The case comes after South Africa asked the Court in December to order Israel, as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, to protect Palestinians in Gaza, where the deaths of more than 33,000 people, mostly women and children.

Ten days ago, the Court issued new “provisional measures” against Israel, while the humanitarian situation in bombed and besieged Gaza continued to worsen.

Negotiations continue

Separately, negotiators seeking a ceasefire in Gaza left Cairo on Monday after finishing negotiations over the weekend. Representatives included people from Israel and Hamas, who arrived in the Egyptian capital on Sunday to resume talks.

The General Assembly granted it the status of “observer non-member state”, the same as that of the Holy See, by 138 votes in favor, 9 against.

Back in Gaza, a UN mission that arrived at Al-Shifa hospital in the north of the city following a weeks-long Israeli offensive to root out Palestinian fighters revealed “an empty shell” and shallow graves, as reported on Saturday by the World Health Organization (WHO).

“Most equipment is unusable or reduced to ashes,” including the hospital's emergency department and surgery and maternity ward.