US veto against UN Resolution for a gaza fire break without hostage to hostage

US veto against UN Resolution for a gaza fire break without hostage to hostage

The United States rejected an UN Security Council mandate with the aim of an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. This was justified by the fact that the decision would not have ensured the release of the hostages.

US veto and its justification

"We made it clear throughout the negotiations that we cannot support an unconditional ceasefire that does not guarantee the release of the hostages. A permanent peace must go hand in hand with the release of these hostages," said deputy US ambassador Robert Wood after Veto on Wednesday.

hostage in Gaza

Currently seven American citizens are recorded in Gaza. Wood emphasized: "We won't forget them." The draft, which was presented to the 15-member council by the ten non-employed members, called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, which is respected by all parties; and also repeated the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

reactions and international statements

officials stated that the formulations were not sufficiently strong because they did not link the armistice to the release of the hostages. Wood claimed that the authors of the draft resolution had refused to examine a compromise that could have led to an assumption, and also noted that it was failed to condemn Hamas for the terrorist attack of October 7th.

The United States was the only ones who voted against the decision by putting their veto into one of the five permanent members of the Council. The other four permanent members voted, including the United Kingdom, which in the past reacted with abstention in three other ceasefire resolutions rejected by the US veto.

criticism of the Palestinian authority

Palestinian officials condemned the Veto Scharf. "There is no right to kill of civilians. There is no right to hunge an entire civilian population. There is no right to drive a people violently. And there is no right to annexation. That is what Israel does in Gaza," said Majed Bamya, representative ambassador for the Palestinian mission in the UN.

The Presidency of the Palestinian Authority said that the US decision "is encouraging Israel to continue its crimes against innocent civilians in Palestine and Lebanon," reports the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

disappointment among member states

The ten elected members of the Council (E10) who had supported the draft resolution were "deeply disappointed" that the draft was not accepted, according to Guyana, Carolyn Allison Rodrigues-Birkett, which belongs to the E10. The constant member France also expressed disappointment. "There is an obvious need for action to implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. This is the only way to ensure the protection of all civilians and the massive and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid," said Nicolas de Riviere, the UN representative of France.

reaction of the United Kingdom

The British ambassador Barbara Woodward described the decision to support the resolution as "a sign of our determined political will to end this war, to stop the suffering in Gaza and to secure the immediate release of the hostages."

outlook and other developments

In June, the Security Council had a supported by the USA Waffellebelplan to end the war. Fourteen of the 15 members voted for it, while only Russia abstained from the voice - the first time that the Unsc has approved such a plan. After the vote, however, Israel said that it would continue with its military operations and not participate in "senseless" negotiations with Hamas.