The United States on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, invoking a strong criticism of the Biden Administration for once again blocking international action aimed at halting the 13-month conflict.
The 15-member council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members who demanded an "immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” and also urged the release of the hostages.
While the majority of the permanent members voted in favour of the resolution, the United States once again vetoed the resolution, using its power as a permanent member to block the resolution.
Deputy US Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, said Washington had made clear that it would only support a resolution that categorically calls for the immediate release of the prisoners as part of a ceasefire.
On the other hand, China, another permanent member of the council, said that setting a precondition for a ceasefire is tantamount to giving the green light to continue the war.
Robert Wood said the US had sought compromise, but the text of the proposed resolution would have sent a “dangerous message” to Hamas that “there’s no need to come back to the negotiating table.”
Israel has killed nearly 44000 people in Gaza since invading the occupied territory on October 8, 2023.
Members roundly criticised Washington for blocking the resolution put forward by the Security Council’s 10 elected members: Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
“It is deeply regretted that due to the use of the veto, this council has once again failed to uphold its responsibility to maintain international peace and security,” Malta’s UN Ambassador Vanessa Frazier said after the vote failed, adding that the text of the resolution “was by no means a maximalist one.”
“It represented the bare minimum of what is needed to begin to address the desperate situation on the ground,” she said.
US ally France said that the US rejecting the resolution firmly required the release of the Israeli prisoners; however, its main rival China criticised the move and said that every time the US uses its veto power to protect the Israeli side, the number of killings and civilian deaths has sharply risen as a result of the diplomatic shield.
China’s UN ambassador, Fu Cong, said, “How many more people have to die before they wake up from their pretend slumber? Insistence on setting a precondition for a ceasefire is tantamount to giving the green light to continue the war and condoning the continued killing.”
Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said before the vote the text was not a resolution for peace but “a resolution for appeasement” of Hamas.
The Hamas leadership has categorically rejected the release of any Israeli prisoners from their captivity till the IDF stops its operations in the territory.
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