US vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire

UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Wednesday (Nov 20) vetoed a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, drawing criticism of the Biden administration for once again blocking international action aimed at halting Israel’s war with Hamas.
The 15-member council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members that called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in the 13-month conflict and separately demanded the release of hostages.
Only the US voted against, using its veto as a permanent council member to block the resolution.
Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN, said Washington had made clear it would only support a resolution that explicitly calls for the immediate release of hostages as part of a ceasefire.
“A durable end to the war must come with the release of the hostages. These two urgent goals are inextricably linked. This resolution abandoned that necessity, and for that reason, the United States could not support it,” he said.
Wood said the US had sought compromise, but the text of the proposed resolution would have sent a “dangerous message” to Palestinian militant group Hamas that “there’s no need to come back to the negotiating table.”
France’s ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said the resolution rejected by the US “very firmly” required the release of hostages.
“France still has two hostages in Gaza, and we deeply regret that the Security Council was not able to formulate this demand,” he said.
China’s UN ambassador, Fu Cong, said 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?” he asked.
“Insistence on setting a precondition for ceasefire is tantamount to giving the green light to continue the war and condoning the continued killing.”
Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon said ahead of the vote the text was not a resolution for peace but was “a resolution for appeasement” of Hamas.
“History will remember who stood with the hostages and who abandoned them,” Danon said.