US Vetoes Arab-Backed UN Resolution Calling For Immediate Ceasefire In Gaza

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

NEW YORK (Worthy News) – The United States has vetoed an Arab-backed United Nations resolution Tuesday demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in the embattled Gaza Strip.

The vote in the 15-member U.N. Security Council was 13-1, with Britain abstaining. It was the third U.S. veto of a Security Council resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.

It was a setback for Algeria, which had put forward the resolution. “A vote in favor of this draft resolution is a support for the Palestinians’ right to life,” the Algerian envoy to the United Nations, Amar Bendjama, told the Council. “Conversely, voting against it implies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon them.”

The Algerian resolution also called for implementing provisional measures ordered in January by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands.

The resolution instructed Israel to mitigate its offensive to protect civilians, lift impediments on aid into Gaza, and take action against Israeli politicians using “genocidal” language.

“Almost one month after the ICJ [ruling], signs of hope are still absent for improvement of the situation in Gaza,” Bendjama stressed. “Silence … is not a viable option. Now is the time for action and the time for truth.”

MOUNTING PRESSURE

Israel has come under mounting pressure to end its military operations in the Palestinian enclave after Hamas’ surprise invasion of southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.

The Hamas-run health ministry claims that since then, more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive, but those figures were difficult to verify independently.

With the death toll rising, the U.S. drafted an alternative resolution, which urges a temporary ceasefire “as soon as practicable.”

It also calls on Israel not to proceed with a planned offensive on Rafah, the southernmost Gazan city where more than a million Palestinians have sought refuge.

However, the U.S. resolution was not due to be voted on for several days.

America’s third ceasefire veto was also expected to complicate Washington’s efforts to build international support for condemning Russia on the second anniversary this week of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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