By Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist ——Bio and Archives--December 23, 2023

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At its last official meeting of the year on December 22nd, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution regarding the current conflict in Gaza. It passed with thirteen votes in favor and two members abstaining, the United States and Russia.

Addressing “the parties to the conflict,” the resolution “demands that they allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip, and in this regard calls for urgent steps to immediately allow safe, unhindered, and expanded humanitarian access and to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.” (Emphasis in the original)

The resolution also demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address medical needs of all hostages.”

The United States, although abstaining rather than voting for the resolution, worked out compromise language during days of negotiations with the resolution’s drafter, the United Arab Emirates, that it could accept rather than veto. Russia did not like the compromise because it did not call for a total ceasefire but chose to abstain rather than veto.

The language the U.S. had objected to, and was taken out of the final version, had called for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities.” The crucial difference is in the timing when a “sustainable cessation of hostilities” can safely occur.

Hamas has been a serial violator of previous ceasefires with Israel. The tragedy of October........

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