Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York. US vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Gaza Peace and Security
The US delegation to the UN Security Council vetoed a resolution calling for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”
During the vote, 14 states voted in favor of the document, with no abstentions. The draft resolution recalled the Security Council’s responsibility for maintaining international peace and security and demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire that must be respected by all parties. The document also demanded the “immediate and unconditional” release of all hostages.
US Position
Explaining his delegation’s position, U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert A. Wood said that American diplomats had been working for weeks to avoid such an outcome.
“We made it clear during the negotiations that we could not support an unconditional cease-fire that did not lead to the release of the hostages,” he said. “This resolution does not envisage that need. That is why the United States could not support it.”
Robert A. Wood said the resolution, if passed, would have sent a dangerous signal to Hamas that there was no need to return to the negotiating table.
The ambassador said it was time to end the war in Gaza and release the hostages, adding that the United States had made it clear to Israel that it needed to increase aid supplies to the enclave.
Russia: US pandering to one side in the conflict
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said he was “shocked” by the fact that the United States vetoed a collective attempt to save the lives of Palestinians and Israelis.
“For long months, the United States “They have been confusing and hindering efforts to formulate a Security Council response to the catastrophic situation in Gaza by pandering to one side of the conflict to advance their own political goals at the cost of Palestinian lives,” Nebenzya said.
Israeli Ambassador: ‘History Will Remember This Vote’
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon thanked the Security Council for rejecting the draft resolution, blaming Hamas for the “horrific” living conditions in the enclave. Israel, for its part, Danon continued, will not stop defending itself and fighting for the freedom of the hostages taken on October 7 last year.
“Today the Security Council had the opportunity to stand on the side of justice,” the ambassador said. “History will remember this vote, remember those who supported the hostages and those who betrayed them, covering for terrorists.”
According to the ambassador, the United States claims that it is acting in the interests of the entire region, but at the same time it votes against a resolution that is supported by the majority of countries in the region.
“It is beyond any normal human understanding that the United States is cynically standing in the way of taking action that could save lives in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” he said.
Palestine: ‘The killing continues while we watch and do nothing’
Deputy Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the UN Majed Bamiya stated that no one has the right to mass murder of civilians, to torture civilians by starvation, to force displacement and annexation of territories.
“This is exactly what Israel is doing in Gaza. These are its military goals. “The lack of a ceasefire decision allows him to do this,” he said.
The ambassador said that Israel’s “full-scale” attack on the Palestinian people was motivated by anything but the desire to free the hostages.
“Can we accept that the killings continue while we watch and do nothing??” he added.