The United States used its veto power at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to block a resolution advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza.
This marks the fifth time since October 2023 that Washington has prevented such a measure from advancing amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
The resolution called for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” while also urging the release of captives currently held by Palestinian resistance groups in the Gaza Strip.
Despite 14 member states voting in favor, the US, as a permanent member of the Council, exercised its veto to nullify the resolution.
#BREAKING
United States VETOES Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of all hostagesRESULT
In Favor: 14
Against: 1 (US)
Abstain: 0 pic.twitter.com/BpUj5xhJHE— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) November 20, 2024
Hours before the vote, a US official informed Reuters news agency that Washington would reject the resolution if its original terms remained unchanged.
Later, during the council’s debate, Robert Wood, the US deputy representative to the UN, defended the veto, stating: “We made clear throughout negotiations, we could not support an unconditional ceasefire that failed to release the hostages.”
“Simply put, this resolution would have sent a dangerous message to Hamas: there’s no need to come back to the negotiating table,” he added.
Unlike previous ceasefire proposals, this latest resolution was collectively put forward by all 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council.
Nevertheless, it faced the same outcome as four earlier attempts that the US had also vetoed, often standing alone in opposition.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,985 Palestinians have been killed, and 104,092 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
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Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
