US veto has sunk Algeria’s ceasefire resolution at the 15-member UN Security Council.
The resolution called for a ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian aid and adherence to the ICJ’s orders against possible genocide in Gaza.
The tally was 13 votes in favour as the UK abstained and the US voted against the measure.
It marked the third time that the U.S has vetoed Gaza ceasefire proposals at the Security Council since the start of the war.
U.S Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, had already telegraphed her intention to veto the resolution before the vote was brought up.
She said that if passed, Algeria’s resolution would work against negotiations taking place for a truce in Gaza.
In remarks to the UN Security Council after the U.S vetoed an Algerian resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Thomas-Greenfield said that calling for an immediate ceasefire could stymie diplomatic efforts in progress to reach an agreement between Hamas and Israel for a pause in the fighting.
The U.S has consistently shielded Israel from diplomatic pressure at the UN since the war began, vetoing resolutions calling for a ceasefire on three occasions despite overwhelming support from UN member states.
The US is also Israel’s primary supplier of arms.
“Colleagues, over the past few weeks, we have made incredibly clear that the resolution before the council would not achieve the goal of a sustainable peace, and may in fact run counter to it,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
“Proceeding with a vote today was wishful and irresponsible. And so while we cannot support a resolution that would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy, we look forward to engaging on a text we believe will address so many of the concerns we all share.
“A text that can, and should, be adopted by the council.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Palestinian Envoy Condemns ‘Reckless’ US Ceasefire Veto
Palestine’s United Nations Envoy, Riyad Mansour decried the “absolutely reckless and dangerous” U.S veto of a ceasefire resolution.
Mansour said that it represents another example of the U.S allowing Israel to avoid accountability as it pushes forward with its war in Gaza.
“The message given today to Israel with this veto is that it can continue to get away with murder,” Mansour stated.
Hamas also condemned the U.S veto.
The Palestinian group said that the Biden administration’s decision to block Algeria’s draft resolution at the UN Security Council benefits the agenda of the Israeli occupation, which aims to “kill and displace” Palestinians.
“President Joe Biden and his administration bear direct responsibility for derailing the resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza,” Hamas said in a statement.
“The American position is considered a green light for the occupation to commit more massacres and kill our innocent people through bombing and starvation,” the group added.
Separately, the charity, Save the Children warned of the price Gaza’s children will pay for the UN Security Council’s most recent failure to adopt a ceasefire resolution due to a U.S veto.
The group said in a statement that Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 12,400 children, making it one of the deadliest military campaigns in modern history in regard to its impact on children.
Save the Children said that at least one million children in Gaza remain at risk from fighting, starvation, disease and the mental distress of the war.
The group’s Director for the occupied Palestinian territories, Jason Lee, stated, “We are appalled to hear of this new low in an already deep pit of failures from the international community.”
“After four months of relentless violence, we are running out of words to describe what children and families in Gaza are going through, as well as the tools to respond in any adequate way.”
Jason Lee
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