Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 21, 2023
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Blinken said to call Cairo, Abu Dhabi in hunt for consensus on UN Gaza resolution
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a meeting with human rights leaders at the State Department, December 7, 2023, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with counterparts from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates amid efforts to finagle a UN Security Council resolution text on Gaza that Washington won’t veto, according to Walla reporter Barak Ravid.
A US official earlier told AP that Blinken would speak to the Emirates’ Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Egypt’s Sameh Shoukry to try to reach a consensus ahead of a vote, which has now been pushed off until Thursday morning in New York.
Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh of the UAE, which sponsored the Arab-backed resolution, says the UAE is optimistic, but if the negotiations yield no results by Thursday “then we will assess in the council to proceed … to a vote on the resolution.”
