US blocks UN resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza
(Baonghean.vn) - Washington has vetoed a draft resolution calling for an end to fighting in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The United States has cast the sole veto on a draft UN Security Council resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict amid mounting civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.
Thirteen members of the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of the resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on December 8 in New York. The United Kingdom abstained, leaving Washington diplomatically isolated in its efforts to block the measure.
UAE Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Mohamed Abushahab asked Security Council members: “What message are we sending to the Palestinian people if we cannot unite in support of the call to end the relentless bombardment of Gaza? Indeed, what message are we sending to people around the world who may find themselves in a similar situation?”
The vote on December 8 came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99, a rarely used provision of the UN charter, to warn the Security Council of an impending “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. He said that, with the conflict now two months old and still raging, the humanitarian aid network in Gaza faced a “serious risk of collapse”.
More than 17,000 Palestinians have been killed and 1.9 million displaced since the conflict began in October. Hamas sparked the conflict by launching surprise attacks on villages in southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages to Gaza.
US officials oppose a general ceasefire because it would only help Hamas maintain its grip on Gaza. A week-long ceasefire late last month allowed Hamas to release 110 Israeli hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. It also gave aid workers time to bring more humanitarian supplies into the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The US mission to the United Nations said in a statement that it opposed the ceasefire resolution because the “hasty” proposal was “out of touch with reality” and would “only sow the seeds for further war.”
Washington’s proposals to amend the resolution have been largely ignored, said Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the UN. He added that, among other concerns, the document did not include language condemning Hamas attacks, which he called “incomprehensible”.
