US vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire | Israel-Palestine conflict News

Vote marks fourth time Joe Biden’s administration has vetoed a UNSC Gaza ceasefire resolution since Israel’s war began.

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.

Reporting from UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday, 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”.

Amar Bendjama, Algeria’s UN envoy, voiced some of that frustration during Wednesday morning’s Security Council session.

“There were significant concessions during negotiations, yet one member chose to block any action — any action — from this council,” Bendjama said.

“Today’s message is clear, to the Israeli occupying power first: ‘You may continue your genocide, you may continue your collective punishment of the Palestinian people with complete impunity. In this chamber, you enjoy immunity’.”

The Palestinian mission to the UN also stressed the importance of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Amidst Israel’s genocide and escalating ethnic cleansing and worsening humanitarian situation, demanding a ceasefire is the moral, legal, and political necessity,” it said in a post on social media.

Beth Miller, political director at the advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace, called the US veto “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.