Five months after the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel precipitated the current conflict in Gaza, the UN Security Council has finally managed to pass a resolution on the issue, and has issued a call for a ceasefire, and for the release of all remaining hostages taken by Hamas. How delayed the resolution was can be seen by its call for a ceasefire in Ramadan, even though it was passed when Ramadan was half-over. The first thing to be noted is that the USA abstained, thus allowing the resolution to pass. The desperation of the rest of the world for a ceasefire could be seen from the unanimity with which it was passed, with even the UK and France casting votes in favour.
The big issue remains. Will Israel obey? Or will it go for a ‘big-push’ offensive into Rafah City, where it will unleash more of the havoc that has led to the killing of more than 32,000 Gazans since the original October 7 attacks, when about 1100 Israelis were killed. On the other hand, these killings, and the brutal way they have been carried out, have led to mass protests in the West, with the result that the almost automatic US veto, backed by the UK and other Western governments, has not been exercised. One of the issues now being discussed is the post-conflict future of Gaza. The two-state solution, which is anathema to the Israeli Netanyahu government is being discussed, as is the removal of Hamas control of the Gaza Strip by handing it over to the Palestinian Authority.
The problem seems to that Israel is not willing to play ball. The test of the UNSC resolution will come when it is obeyed by Israel. Also, as Pakistan can attest in the Kashmir issue, a UNSC resolution can be ignored with impunity by one of the parties to a dispute. Israel itself has disobeyed the UNSC before over its illegal occupation of its 1967 War conquests. At the same time, the feeling of the Palestinian people is to be assessed. Elections have not been held since 2006. Even Hamas’s mandate is long outdated. Another issue is what is happening in the West Bank, where there has been an uptick in violence, largely unnoticed by the world, which has been aghast at the slaughter in Gaza. Israel is more interested in the West Bank than in Gaza; it is impossible for a resolution of the Palestinian problem until the West Bank is left to them.
