US vetoes UNSC resolution calling for 'unconditional, permanent' ceasefire in Gaza

The United States has vetoed another draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Fourteen member states voted in favor of the draft resolution on Wednesday, but it was blocked by the US, the Israeli regime’s main ally.

The resolution had been put forward by the Security Council’s 10 non-permanent members.

The resolution called for “safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance” including in the besieged northern Gaza. It denounced any attempt to starve the Palestinians.

While the resolution requested the release of Israeli captives in Gaza, Washington expressed opposition to its call for an “unconditional” ceasefire.

“We made clear throughout negotiations that we could not support an unconditional ceasefire that failed to release the hostages,” Robert Wood, the deputy US envoy to the UN, told the session.

It was the fourth time the administration of President Joe Biden has wielded its veto power to block a ceasefire in Gaza since the Israeli regime launched the genocidal war last October.

The US provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually, and the Biden administration has authorized $14 billion in additional assistance to its ally since the war began.

'No justification' for blocking efforts to end genocide

Palestinian envoy to the UN Majed Bamya condemned the United States' veto of the proposed ceasefire resolution, saying there is "no justification" for obstructing efforts to end Israel's genocide against the Palestinian people.

"Israel will always claim conditions have not been met because its plans require it to continue this war, to annex the land and destroy the people," he said.

The Palestinian envoy said Israel's relentless attacks on Gaza were part of its plan to "annihilate a nation," expressing frustration over the prolonged debate surrounding the necessity of addressing genocide.

"Fourteen months and we are still debating if a genocide must be stopped. There's no justification whatsoever for vetoing a resolution trying to stop the process," he asserted.

Bamya said that the US veto showed Washington's support for a war that was "killing, maiming, terrorizing, destroying an entire nation."

“The world should not grow accustomed to the death of Palestinians, to seeing Palestinian children starving, to seeing mothers carrying their children from one place to another, forcibly displaced,” the envoy said.

US message to Israel: 'You may continue your genocide'

Algeria’s UN envoy Amar Bendjama also voiced frustration over the US blocking the resolution.

“There were significant concessions during negotiations, yet one member chose to block any action — any action — from this council,” he told the council.

"Today's message is clear to the Israeli occupying power; 'You may continue your genocide, you may continue your collective punishment of the Palestinian people with complete impunity.'"

Meanwhile, the Israeli ambassador, Danny Danon, thanked the US for using its veto power, saying the Biden administration was “standing on the side of morality and justice.”

Since the beginning of the Israeli campaign of death and destruction on October 7, 2023, the Security Council has struggled to speak with one voice, as the United States used its veto power multiple times.

The few resolutions that the United States did allow to pass by abstaining stopped short of calling for an unconditional and permanent ceasefire.

In March, the Council called for a temporary end to the hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but this appeal was ignored by the Tel Aviv regime.

In June, the 15-member body pledged to support a resolution that laid out a multi-stage ceasefire that ultimately went nowhere.

Some diplomats had expressed optimism that President Joe Biden might be more flexible in his few remaining weeks in power.

They hope for a repeat of December 2016, when then President Barack Obama’s second term was finishing and the Council passed a resolution calling for a halt to the Israeli settlement building in the occupied territories.

The United States refrained from using its veto then, something seen as a departure from the unqualified support for the Israeli regime.

'Wake up from pretend slumber!'

China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong said during the session that each time the United States had exercised its veto to protect Israel, the number of people killed in Gaza had steadily risen.

“How many more people have to die before they wake up from their pretend slumber?”

“Insistence on setting a precondition for ceasefire is tantamount to giving the green light to continue the war and condoning the continued killing.”

'Shocking but not surprising'

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said, “It is shocking that the US has vetoed an effort to save the lives of Palestinians and Israelis.”

“Though perhaps we should not be surprised about it.”

US complicit in Gaza genocide: Hamas

Following the veto, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas accused the United States of being “directly responsible” for Israel’s “genocidal campaign” in Gaza.

“Again, the United States demonstrates that it is a direct partner in the aggression against our people, that it is a criminal.”

The United States, Hamas said, “kills children and women and destroys civilian life in Gaza, and that it is directly responsible for the genocidal war and ethnic cleansing, just like the occupation.”

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide, Israel has been massacring the Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health says its estimates show at least 43,985 Palestinians have been killed and 104,092 wounded.

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