Trying to avoid another veto by the United States of America (USA), the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) tonight, for the second time in two days, postponed the vote on the draft resolution of the Arab states, which calls for some form of pause in the fighting in the Gaza Strip in order to deliver humanitarian aid. .
Originally scheduled for Monday, the vote was postponed until Wednesday.
Security Council members remained in intense negotiations as the US asked for more time. Talks were ongoing in an effort to get a representative of President Joseph Biden's government to abstain or vote for the resolution.
A draft resolution introduced Monday morning called for an "immediate and sustainable cessation of hostilities," but that wording was watered down in the new text of the proposal submitted Tuesday.
It now "calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities". The US has previously objected to the mention of "cessation of hostilities".
The proposal also calls on the UN to establish a mechanism to monitor aid deliveries. That could be problematic because it bypasses Israeli inspection of aid shipments entering Gaza.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday afternoon, when the vote was still scheduled for 17 p.m., that "we are still working on the modalities of the resolution."
He said: and that "it is important for us that the rest of the world understands what is at stake here and what Hamas did on October 7 and how Israel has the right to defend itself against those threats."
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