PNN – Linda Thomas Greenfield, the American ambassador and representative to the United Nations, refused to comment on the decision of Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, to request the action of the Security Council in order to establish a ceasefire in Gaza and said: We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s letter and have been in contact with the UN and other partners since the beginning of the conflict.
According to Pakistan News Network, the American ambassador to the United Nations said in a conversation with CNN about Guterres’ letter: We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s letter and have been and will be in close contact with the UN and other partners in the region since the beginning of the conflicts.
Pressed for a second comment by the CNN anchor, Greenfield said: “The Secretary General has the authority to issue these letters, and we will continue to work with the United Nations to find a way to address his and others’ concerns.”
The American ambassador to the United Nations continued: We have supported the humanitarian pause that ended a few days ago, but we continue to work with the parties in the region to find ways to move forward, send more humanitarian aid, release the hostages, and ultimately, create two states.
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian resistance groups launched a surprise operation called “Al-Aqsa Storm” from Gaza against the positions of the Israeli regime, and finally, after 45 days of fighting and conflict, on November 24, 2023, between Israel and Hamas, a four-day temporary cease-fire was reached.
Following the end of the four-day temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, Qatar, as one of the mediating countries, announced that an agreement had been reached between Hamas and Tel Aviv to extend the ceasefire for 48 hours. Hamas also announced that it has reached an agreement with Qatar and Egypt on the extension of the temporary humanitarian ceasefire for another 2 days, based on the same terms of the previous ceasefire.
Finally, on December 1, 2023, the temporary ceasefire ended and the Israeli regime resumed attacks on Gaza. In order to retaliate against the surprise attacks of “Al-Aqsa Storm” and compensate for its failure and stop the resistance operations, this regime has closed all the crossings of the Gaza Strip and is bombarding this area.
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The Secretary General of the United Nations has sent a letter to the President of the Security Council Citing Article 99 of the United Nations Charter regarding the extent of human casualties in Gaza.
This is the first time Guterres has done so since he took over as UN Secretary-General in 2017. Article 99 of the UN Charter, which has been used only 9 times in the history of the United Nations, states that “the Secretary-General may report to the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”
This article allows the Secretary General of this organization to call the members of the Security Council to an urgent meeting and ask them to take immediate action when he feels that “global security and peace” is in danger.
In this letter, Guterres said: “The complete collapse of public order” in the Gaza Strip will make it “impossible” to send humanitarian aid even on a limited basis.
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations announced that the UN Security Council will vote on the draft resolution presented by the Arab and Islamic countries on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Friday local time.
Riyad Mansour continued: Invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter is the right thing to do. The UN Secretary-General’s decision to invoke Article 99 to compel the Security Council to address the situation in Gaza is “the right thing to do.”
Mansour told reporters that it was a “brave stance” by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and showed how “dangerous” the situation in Gaza is.
Referring to the draft resolution that is expected to be discussed on Friday, Mansour told reporters: “We sincerely hope that the UN Security Council will approve this [resolution].