The United States has vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian territory continues.
The US voted down the measure on Wednesday morning while the 14 other members of the council voted in favour.
While the resolution called for the release of captives held in Gaza, Washington had voiced opposition to its demand 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, said during the session in New York.
“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.”
This is the fourth time that US President Joe Biden’s administration has vetoed a resolution calling for an end to the war in Gaza since Israel’s military offensive began in October of last year.
To date, nearly 44,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which has also plunged the coastal territory into a humanitarian crisis.
Biden a staunch supporter of Israel has faced widespread condemnation from rights advocates for his administration’s stance, including its refusal to condition its assistance to the top US ally amid the war.
The US provides Israel with at least $3.8bn in military aid annually, and the Biden administration has authorised $14bn in further assistance to the country since the conflict in Gaza began.
Beth Miller, political director at the US-based advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace, called the US veto on Wednesday “pathetic” and said the Biden administration’s legacy will be the genocide in Gaza.
“That fact that they continue to parrot over and over again that they’re ‘working tirelessly’ for a ceasefire while simultaneously blocking efforts to reach a ceasefire and sending lethal weapons to the Israeli government … is a sick joke,” Miller told Al Jazeera.
Reporting from UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo said “clearly the United States is on an island by itself”.
“It’s worth repeating that this draft resolution was the product of weeks of negotiations,” Elizondo reported, adding that there is “clear frustration among the Security Council that there’s been inaction on Gaza”.
‘Attempt to annihilate’
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon thanked the US for using its veto, saying the Biden administration was “standing on the side of morality and justice” by “refusing to abandon the hostages”.
“The text ignored the suffering of the 101 innocent hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza,” Danon said.
