Listen to this note:
For the third time, the United States vetoed a resolution of the UN Security Council presented by Algeria that would end the war in Gaza, calling for “an immediate ceasefire.”
With 13 votes in favor, one abstention from the United Kingdom and the vote against from the United States, the resolution was not favorable as the United States had the right to veto due to its status as a permanent member (along with Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. United).
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador, justified her vote by stressing that it “jeopardizes the delicate negotiations” underway, so proceeding with the vote today was “irresponsible.”
At the time, the representative of Israel, Gilad Erdan, noted that “Israel is also seeking a ceasefire. But there is only one formula we will accept: all our hostages have to be released and Hamas has to surrender.”
While the Palestinian ambassador, Riyad Mansour, assured that “the call for a ceasefire in Gaza should have been agreed upon a long time ago?
"What threshold must be crossed for this Council to finally demand a ceasefire?" he questioned.
The draft resolution called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as unrestricted humanitarian access.
The countries that voted in favor of the resolution were: China, France, Russia, Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Switzerland.
The United States proposed an alternative resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire and opposing an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, based on all hostages being released.
This resolution, together with Egypt and Qatar, seeks a six-week pause in the fighting, “and we believe that this (Algerian) resolution could negatively impact those negotiations (…) and could prolong the fighting between Hamas and Israel,” said the ambassador. from the United States Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
“We believe that the resolution on the table would have a negative impact on the negotiations. Demanding an immediate ceasefire, without demanding that Hamas release the hostages, will not bring lasting peace,” he explained.
Since the war in Gaza began, the United States has vetoed three resolutions in favor of ending the fire in the Strip: the first of them in Brazil on October 18, where it asked Israel for “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza; the second on December 8, to a resolution presented by the United Arab Emirates demanding an immediate ceasefire.
The result of today's vote "demonstrates that on the issue of a ceasefire in Gaza, it is clear that it is not that the Security Council does not present an overwhelming consensus (in its favor), but that the United States veto is The one who annuls that consensus? lamented the Chinese ambassador, Zhang Jun.
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