UN cease-fire resolution is binding on Israel but lacks implementing measures: Legal expert

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - A UN Security Council resolution approved Monday demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza "is binding on Israel but lacks implementing measures," a legal expert told Anadolu.

Fourteen council members voted in favor of the resolution while the US abstained.

The resolution called for an immediate cease-fire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, leading to a lasting sustainable cease-fire.

Ahmad Al-Ashqar, a professor of Public Law at the Arab American University, said however that the importance of the resolution lies in the fact that it "puts Israel in an embarrassing position and may expose it to sanctions by countries."

He said the resolution did not include an obligatory format but calls for a cease-fire within a limited period during the month of Ramadan, leading to a permanent cease-fire.

Al-Ashqar noted that the resolution would have an implementing format if it was based on the seventh chapter of the UN Charter, which stipulates the use of force against a state that does not abide by a resolution.

He suggested that the resolution was drafted based on the sixth chapter, which has no implementing format, under a US request. Otherwise, it may take it down by a veto.

"The resolution is important and establishes for a cease-fire," he said, adding that countries may impose sanctions on Israel if it does not abide by it, but not sanctions or military measures by the Security Council.

While Israel rejected the resolution, the Palestinian side, including the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas group, welcomed it.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,333 Palestinians have since been killed and over 74,694 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar