RPT - UNSC Unlikely To Adopt Any Statement On Gaza After Meeting On Sunday - Sources

UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2021) The UN Security Council will unlikely produce any statement on the situation in the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem after it convenes for an emergency open meeting on Sunday, diplomatic sources at the Security Council told Sputnik.

"It is unlikely that any document will be adopted. But public speeches by the UN Security Council members are already worth a lot," said one of the sources, adding that initially, the United States generally opposed holding open meetings on the topic of the escalation between Israel and Palestine.

After holding two closed consultations on the renewed Israeli-Palestinian conflict this week, the UN Security Council could not agree to produce any unified statement. According to a diplomatic source at the council, the United States was the only member state that voiced its opposition to adopting a statement.

On Wednesday, the EU countries at the Security Council- Estonia, France, Ireland and Norway - issued a statement which condemned violence perpetrated on both sides of the conflict.

Later that day, China, Norway and Tunisia requested to gather for a third Security Council meeting on May 14; however, Washington did not agree to hold consultations, citing the diplomatic efforts if was undertaking that might be affected by such a meeting.

At the same time, the United States proposed to organize a meeting on May 18 and the UN Security Council agreed to compromise and meet two days earlier.

None of the sources also expected that any resolution would be adopted to help calm the situation in the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

"Not at this stage," said one of the sources when asked whether any member state planned to submit a draft of a relevant resolution.

"At least we have an open meeting," the diplomat added.

Another source at the Security Council said people will obviously be most interested in the attitude of the Americans.

"I guess it remains to be confirmed whether or not Israel and Palestine will participate, but I expect that they will," the source said.

According to the diplomat, not a single member state is currently working on a draft of a possible resolution that potentially could be adopted on Sunday.

"There's a long time between now and Sunday, so let's see what happens on the ground, but there's no product on the table [and] I don't expect [anything] to be adopted either," the source said.

The US Permanent Mission to the United Nations did not immediately reply when asked whether it expects any concrete results from the Sunday meeting.

The situation on the border between Israel and Palestine's Gaza Strip escalated on Monday evening. Since then, around 1,750 rockets have been fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. Israel has responded by launching multiple strikes against Hamas. Over 130 Palestinians and seven Israelis have been killed in the conflict escalation.

The conflict has garnered international attention, with regional and international mediators such as Egypt, Qatar, the United States, Russia, proposing to step in to negotiate a truce.