The US vetoes the UN resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza

2024-11-20 18:50:45, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United States on November 20 vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

Washington said it vetoed it because the ceasefire was not linked to the immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas - the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union - during the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The UN Security Council voted 14 votes to 1 against the resolution sponsored by 10 members of the 15-nation Council, but it was not adopted due to the US veto.

The resolution, which was put to the vote, called for "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire to be respected by all parties and reiterated the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages".

The Security Council in June adopted the first resolution on a ceasefire plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas. The US-sponsored resolution welcomed US President Joe Biden's cease-fire proposal, which the US said Israel had accepted. This resolution required Hamas to accept the three-phase plan, but despite the resolution, the war in Gaza is still ongoing.

With more than 43,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza, according to health authorities, the threat of starvation, especially in the north of the enclave, and no signs of an end to the war, the 10-member Council decided to focus first on a ceasefire.

Guyana's Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues, who introduced the resolution on behalf of the selected states, said the resolution "was drawn up because of the Council's deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, including what is happening in northern Gaza and about due to the need for an urgent response to this situation".

The US deputy ambassador, Robert Wood, said the US had been working for weeks to avoid the veto and expressed regret that compromise language was not accepted.

"We have made it clear during the negotiations that we will not support an unconditional ceasefire that fails to include the release of hostages," he said.

During the attack on October 7 last year, Hamas killed nearly 1,200 people – most of them civilians – and kidnapped another 250 people. Close to 100 hostages are still in Gaza and a third of them are believed to be dead./ REL