The United States once again used its veto power this Wednesday to block, for the fourth time, the approval of a resolution on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in the United Nations Security Council. On this occasion, the request had been presented by the ten elected members of the Council, leaving out the five permanent ones, which are the United States, the Russian Federation, France, China and the United Kingdom. And they all voted in favor, that is, 14 countries, except the US.
“We said clearly in the negotiations that we could not support an unconditional ceasefire that does not release the hostages, because as this Council has previously requested, an end to the war has to come hand in hand with the release of the hostages. . These two urgent objectives are strictly related and this resolution has abandoned that need [de vincularlos]“said the US representative, Robert Wood, to justify his position.
When Guyana presented the text, it stated that the request was for “a permanent and immediate ceasefire” and for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” Even so, he did not condition the ceasefire on the release of the hostages, something that according to Wood “would send a dangerous message to Hamas: there is no need to return to the negotiating table.”
The text expressly called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire and, as explained by Guyana’s ambassador, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, the language has been carefully drafted to accommodate the wishes of all countries. On the other hand, Wood believes that “an unconditional ceasefire with Hamas means that this Council accepts that Hamas remains in power in Gaza, the United States will never accept it.”
The ceasefire petition also rejected “any efforts to starve Palestinians” and demanded immediate access to basic services and humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, including the besieged area of northern Gaza. Likewise, it was also requested to recognize UNRWA as the main organization that acts in the region and asked all members to support it as such.
“Today it is not Israel that is the obstacle to the ceasefire and an agreement regarding the hostages, but rather Hamas. “Israel has said that it is willing to have a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the release of some hostages,” the US representative repeated. The United States has insisted that they have presented proposals to modify the text and for all Council members to reach a consensus.
“The United States has taken a very clear position since the war broke out and that is that Israel had the right to defend itself after the worst massacre of Jews after the Holocaust,” Wood reiterated and insisted that they have done “more than any other country.” to achieve “tangible measures” in Gaza. The US representative has pointed out that the resolution does not explicitly condemn the terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, which marked the beginning of the war.
The last resolution that managed to be approved in the Council was the one presented by the United States last June, which had 14 votes in favor and Russia abstained. The text supported the truce proposal presented by US President Joe Biden on May 31, with a three-phase plan for the Strip. Five months later, negotiations remain stalled, there are already more than 43,000 Palestinians dead and Israel has invaded Lebanon. The Middle East remains on the verge of an escalation of the conflict, with the recent exchange of attacks between Tehran and Tel Aviv.
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