Today, the United Nations Security Council debated a resolution sponsored by the United States that called for a “humanitarian pause” on Israeli attacks on Gaza to allow aid to flow into the blockaded enclave, called on Hamas to release all prisoners, and reiterated an “inherent right of all states” to self-defense.
It was supported by Albania, France, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S. Brazil and Mozambique abstained. China and Russia vetoed. (The United Arab Emirates also voted against it.)
This follows the failure of a Russian resolution on Oct. 16 that refused to name or call out Hamas, other than to call for the release of all people taken into captivity since Oct. 7. That one received support from only five countries, including China and Russia. France, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. opposed it. Russia’s ambassador claimed their opposition came from “selfish and political” interests.
None of this should be a surprise. No matter what you think of the Israel-Hamas war, it’s clear that it serves Russia’s interests. The more the world is destabilized, the better for Russia. It needs the West distracted from Ukraine, and for its people to tire of conflict and war.
But it is surprising for one simple reason: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent the entire past two years keeping Ukraine at arm’s length, denying the kind of help Israel has been more than capable of delivering.
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