The United States on Tuesday vetoed a new United Nations Security Council draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
“We cannot support a resolution that jeopardizes sensitive negotiations,” said Washington’s ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, in favor of an alternative resolution drafted by the United States.
The Algerian document called for “the immediate declaration of a humanitarian ceasefire to be observed by all parties”.
The vote comes as Israel prepares to enter Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where some 1.4 million have already fled, as part of its mission to destroy Hamas. people.
But he is under increasing pressure to refrain from military action, including from his closest ally Washington.
The draft resolution opposes the “forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population.”
It also demanded the release of all hostages held by Hamas.
As with previous drafts rejected by the United States and Israel, the new text does not condemn the October 7 attack by Hamas militants.
Israel launched a war against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group carried out a deadly attack in southern Israel on October 7 that killed at least 1,160 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled territory, Israel’s retaliation against Hamas killed more than 29,000 people. Palestinian lives in the Gaza Strip.
As late as the weekend, the United States warned that the Algerian text was unacceptable and threatened to veto it.
American project
“We don’t think this Council product is going to help improve the situation on the ground,” US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said on Monday.
According to Mr. Wood, the adoption of such a resolution on the ceasefire would jeopardize the ongoing diplomatic negotiations aimed at freeing the hostages from the Gaza Strip.
Instead, the United States began circulating an alternative draft, seen by the AFP news agency on Monday.
While the text contains the word “ceasefire,” which the United States has previously avoided, vetoing two draft resolutions that used the term in October and December, it does not call for an immediate end to hostilities.
In line with recent comments from US President Joe Biden, the US draft favors “a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible” – once all hostages are released.
It also mentions concerns about Rafa and says that “a major ground attack should not be launched under the current circumstances”.
A senior US official said on Monday that there was no deadline for a vote on the American project, adding that there would be no rush.
But even with no rush, the US text “as it stands (…) cannot be accepted,” one diplomatic source said, citing several questions over the wording of the ceasefire and the risk that any text presented to the 15-member body would The United States may face a Russian veto.
In any case, the mere fact that the United States has tabled a counter-resolution could “make Israel nervous,” Richard Gowan, an expert at the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, told AFP.
“The US has finally used the Security Council to show that its patience with the Israeli campaign also has its limits,” Gowan said.
The Palestinian representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, called for a vote days ago, saying the Arab group had been “more than generous in giving our colleagues extra time.”
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2024-05-03 01:56:48