The United States has vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip amid Israeli bombing of the Palestinian territory. continue.
The United States rejected the measure Wednesday morning, while the other 14 Council members voted in favor.
While the resolution called for the release of captives held in Gaza, Washington expressed opposition to its demand for an “unconditional” ceasefire.
“We have made clear throughout the negotiations that we cannot support an unconditional ceasefire that does not allow for the release of the hostages,” said Robert Wood, the deputy U.S. envoy to the UN, during the session in New York.
“A lasting end to the war must come from the release of the hostages. These two pressing goals are inextricably linked. This resolution abandoned this necessity and, for this reason, the United States could not support it. »
This is the fourth time that US President Joe Biden’s administration has vetoed a resolution calling for an end to the war in Gaza since the Israeli military offensive began in October last year.
To date, nearly 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli bombardments on Gaza, which have also plunged the coastal territory into a humanitarian crisis.
Biden — a strong supporter of Israel — has been widely condemned by human rights advocates for his administration’s stance, including its refusal to condition aid on the United States’ main ally in the war.
The United States provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually, and the Biden administration has authorized $14 billion in additional aid to the country since the Gaza conflict began.
Beth Miller, political director of the US advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace, on Wednesday called the US veto “pathetic” and said the Biden administration’s legacy would be genocide in Gaza.
“The fact that they continue to repeat over and over again that they are ‘working tirelessly’ for a ceasefire while blocking efforts to achieve a ceasefire and sending deadly weapons to the Israeli government …is a bad joke,” Miller told Tel Aviv Tribune. .
Reporting from UN headquarters in New York, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Gabriel Elizondo said “the United States is clearly on an island of its own.”
“It bears repeating that this draft resolution is the product of weeks of negotiations,” Elizondo reported, adding that there is “obvious frustration within the Security Council over inaction on Gaza.” .
“Attempt at annihilation”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon thanked the United States for using its veto, saying the Biden administration “stands on the side of morality and justice” by “refusing to give up the hostages.”
“The text ignores the suffering of the 101 innocent hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza,” Danon said.
But Majed Bamya, the State of Palestine’s deputy envoy to the UN, stressed at Wednesday morning’s Security Council session that a ceasefire would save all lives.
“That was true a year ago; this is even more true today. A ceasefire does not solve everything, but it is the first step towards resolving everything,” Bamya said.
“The world should not get used to the deaths of Palestinians, to seeing Palestinian children starve to death, to seeing mothers carrying their children from one place to another, forcibly moved,” he said. .
“The fact that we are Palestinians does not make this any less shocking or less scandalous. Maybe for some we have the wrong nationality, the wrong faith, the wrong skin color – but we are humans and we should be treated as such.
Bamya added that the world is witnessing an “attempt to annihilate a nation” while tools “designed to respond to these situations are not used.”
“Are Palestinian lives not worth saving, or does Israel have the right to kill? Can this council just pass resolutions and then witness their blatant violation? This self-inflicted helplessness must stop.
Amar Bendjama, Algeria’s envoy to the UN, also expressed frustration on Wednesday over the United States’ blocking of the resolution.
“There were significant concessions during the negotiations, but one member chose to block any action – any action – from this board,” Bendjama told the board.
“Today’s message is clear, addressing first and foremost the Israeli occupying power: ‘You can continue your genocide, you can continue your collective punishment of the Palestinian people with impunity.’ In this chamber, you have immunity.”