The United States has once again vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, accusing the other 14 council members of cynically rejecting attempts at reaching a compromise.
This is the fourth time since October 2023 that the US has used its veto power to block a Gaza ceasefire resolution in the Security Council.
The US explained its reasons, stating that there was no condemnation of Hamas for the acts of October 7, 2023, and also one paragraph called OP1. The US said that it wanted in this draft the ceasefire to be connected and conditional on the release of all the captives.
The draft called for the release of all captives and also called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire but did not necessarily link them or make them conditional, and this is what the United States is saying it is against.
Addressing the council, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood said that his country “deeply regrets” the position of the council after the latest Gaza ceasefire vote.
“The United States worked for weeks in good faith to avoid this outcome.
“We made clear throughout negotiations that we could not support an unconditional ceasefire… A durable end to the war must come with the release of the hostages.
Robert Wood
Wood averred that the resolution would have sent a “dangerous message to Hamas”, adding that the message would have been “there is no need to come back to the negotiating table.”
He said that Hamas would have seen it as “a vindication of its cynical strategy” that the international community has forgotten about the fate of the Israeli captives held in Gaza. “We must not let that happen. We will not forget them,” Woods said.
As Israel continues its deadly assault on the enclave, he said the US will resume diplomatic efforts for a resolution.
US Veto Of Gaza Ceasefire Resolution Slammed
Deputy Ambassador to the Palestine mission to the UN, Majed Bamya, said that Israel’s ongoing deadly assault on Gaza has nothing to do with the Israeli captives held there.
He told the UN Security Council after the latest vote on a Gaza ceasefire resolution that a ceasefire would save “all lives” in the besieged enclave.
Bamya decried the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where famine is looming and is already “a reality in northern Gaza.” He added, “The world should not grow accustomed to the death of Palestinians, to seeing Palestinian children starving.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned the blocking the draft ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council, calling it a clear indicator that the “US administration is the party directing the war of extermination and ethnic cleansing against our people in the Gaza Strip.”
Also, Hamas accused the United States of being responsible for Israel’s war in Gaza after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire.
“Once again, the United States demonstrates that it is a direct partner in the aggression against our people, that it is criminal, kills children and women and destroys civilian life in Gaza, and that it is directly responsible for the genocidal war and ethnic cleansing, just like the occupation (Israel).”
Hamas
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