America uses veto against draft resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza

The United States of America used its veto power again, on Wednesday, against a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all prisoners, which the Palestinian resistance factions considered a partnership in the war of extermination against the Strip.

The draft resolution received the support of 14 out of 15 members of the Council, but it was not adopted because the United States, a permanent member of the Council, used its veto power.

The draft resolution stressed the demand that the parties comply with their obligations under international law with regard to the persons they detain and that the civilian population in the Gaza Strip be allowed immediate access to basic services and humanitarian assistance essential to their survival.

The draft resolution at the same time rejected any action that would lead to the starvation of the Palestinians, and called for the facilitation of the full, rapid, safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian aid on a large scale into the Gaza Strip and all its areas and its delivery to all Palestinian civilians who need it, including civilians in the besieged northern Gaza Strip who are in dire need of immediate humanitarian relief, under the coordination of the United Nations.

The draft resolution called on all parties to fully comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, in particular its provisions relating to the protection of civilians, including in particular women, children and persons hors de combat, as well as its provisions relating to the protection of civilian objects.

He stressed that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza, and called on all parties to enable the Agency to implement its mandate as adopted by the General Assembly, in all its areas of operation, with full respect for the principles of humanitarian action based on humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and to respect international humanitarian law, including the protection of United Nations and humanitarian facilities.

For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) condemned the United States' use of its veto in the Security Council against the ceasefire resolution in Gaza. It said that the United States "proves once again that it is a direct partner in the aggression against our people and is responsible for the war of extermination."

In the same context, the Islamic Jihad Movement said that Washington's use of the veto in the Security Council "confirms that it is waging a war of extermination against our people."

Since the beginning of the war, the UN Security Council has tried to come up with a unified position, but it has repeatedly been vetoed by the US, but also by Russia and China. The few resolutions that the Americans allowed to pass by abstaining did not include a call for an unconditional and permanent ceasefire.

With American and Western support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving about 148,000 dead and wounded - most of them children and women - and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

Israel continues its massacres, ignoring the UN Security Council resolution to end them immediately and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Source: Agencies