UNITED NATIONS, United States, Oct  25, 2023 (AFP) - A divided UN
Security Council will vote Wednesday on competing draft resolutions on the
Israel-Hamas war that were drawn up by Russia and the United States, diplomats
said.

The council's schedule said the meeting was due to begin at 3:00 pm (1900
GMT).

After the defeat last week of two draft resolutions presented by Russia and
Brazil, two new drafts will be voted on, diplomats told AFP.

The Russian document, seen by AFP, calls for "an immediate, durable and
fully respected humanitarian ceasefire" and "condemns all violence and
hostilities against civilians."

But unlike the Russian draft of last week, which won the support of only
five countries, the new one specifically mentions the Islamist group Hamas.

Hamas's surprise attack from Gaza into Israel on October 7 with the death
of more than 1,400 people, mainly civilians, triggered the war.

Hamas also took more than 200 hostages, and Israel has since waged
relentless retaliatory bombings that the Hamas-ruled health ministry in Gaza
says have killed more than 6,500 people, nearly half of them children.

This new Russian draft resolution "rejects and condemns the heinous attacks
by Hamas."

To be adopted a draft needs the support of at least nine of the council's
15 members, with none of the five permanent members -- the United States,
Britain, France, Russia and China -- exercising their right to veto it.

Last week the United States vetoed a Brazilian draft resolution which
garnered 12 votes in favor. Washington said it rejected the text because it did
not state that Israel has the right to defend itself.

The new American draft seen by AFP defends not just Israel's but "the
inherent right of all States to individual and collective self-defense."
It also calls for "humanitarian pauses" to let desperately needed aid into
the sealed off Gaza Strip.

But Russia's UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said Tuesday he could not
endorse the US resolution because it does not feature a call for a ceasefire.
One diplomatic source said that if both the Russian and US draft
resolutions are voted down on Wednesday the 10 non permanent members of the
council could present their own draft.

The broader UN General Assembly is scheduled to debate the war on Thursday
and Friday.

Resolutions from this body representing all UN members, with no one holding
veto power, are non-binding. Still, Arab countries are working on a resolution
that could be voted on this week, diplomats said.

This draft seen by AFP urges an immediate ceasefire and unhindered access
for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.