The United States on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza because it was not linked to the release of hostages, saying it would embolden Hamas militants.
All 14 other members of the council voted in favour of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory, AP reports.
The resolution before the UN’s most powerful body also did not fulfill two other US demands: It did not condemn Hamas’ deadly attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, which ignited the war, or say the militant group must disarm and withdraw from Gaza.
Acting US Ambassador Dorothy Shea, speaking to the council immediately before the vote, said the resolution would undermine the security of Israel. a close US ally, and diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire “that reflects the realities on the ground.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the resolution would only have empowered Hamas. “Hamas could end this brutal conflict immediately by laying down its arms and releasing all remaining hostages,” he said in a statement.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon thanked the United States for refusing to abandon the hostages. He said the resolution’s failure to make the release of hostages a condition for a ceasefire would have put all the pressure on Israel and handed Hamas “time, leverage and political cover.”
But the US veto of the resolution — its fifth since the start of the war — was roundly criticised by other members of the council, who accused the United States of providing Israel with impunity.
The Chinese ambassador to the UN said Israel’s actions have “crossed every red line” of international humanitarian law and seriously violated UN resolutions. “Yet, due to the shielding by one country, these violations have not been stopped or held accountable,” Ambassador Fu Cong said.
Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward, a usual US ally, lashed out at Israel. “This Israeli government’s decisions to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict aid are unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive, and the UK completely opposes them,” she said.
Pakistan’s Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said the US veto “will be remembered as a complicity, a green light for continued annihilation. A moment where the entire world was expecting action. But yet again, this council was blocked and prevented by one member from carrying out its responsibility.”
Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said Palestinians are now urging governments to take “real measures” to pressure Israel to get out of Gaza before it implements what he called an Israeli plan “to destroy our people.”
And in the coming days, he said, the Palestinians will head to the 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, with a similar humanitarian-focused resolution. Unlike in the Security Council, assembly resolutions are not legally binding, though they are seen as a barometer of world opinion.
The US vetoed the last Security Council resolution on Gaza in November, under the Biden administration, also because the ceasefire demand was not directly linked to the release of all hostages. Similarly, the current resolution demands those taken by Hamas and other groups be released, but it does not make it a condition for a truce.