A resolution sponsored by the Arabs calling for an early cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas conflict is vetoed by the US

Israel-Hamas conflict: Today, February 20, the US rejected a UN resolution supported by the Arab world that called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the beleaguered Gaza Strip.

The United Kingdom abstained from the vote, which resulted in a vote of 13-1 in favor of ending the more than four-month conflict that began with Hamas’ surprise invasion of southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 more. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that since then, Israel’s military onslaught has claimed the lives of almost 29,000 Palestinians.

The Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza was vetoed by the US for the third time.

Though they are aware that the US would veto the resolution, Arab countries are voting in favor of it in an effort to demonstrate widespread international support for putting a stop to the Israel-Hamas conflict. The resolution calls for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

The vote on the resolution was set for 10 a.m. by the Security Council. The Biden administration, according to US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will veto the resolution supported by the Arabs because it might obstruct ongoing US efforts to mediate a settlement between the warring parties that would result in at least a six-week ceasefire and the release of all hostages taken during Hamas’ unexpected attack on southern Israel on October 7.

The United States unexpectedly published a competing UN Security Council resolution before of the vote, which called for the removal of all barriers to the delivery of humanitarian supplies and supported a temporary cease-fire in Gaza contingent on the release of all captives. The draft resolution said that both of these steps “would help to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.”

The resolution supported by the Arabs is not “an effective mechanism for trying to do the three things that we want to see happen, which is get hostages out, more aid in, and a lengthy pause to this conflict,” US deputy envoy Robert Wood told several reporters on Monday.

“What we’re looking at is another possible option, and we’ll be discussing this with friends going forward,” Wood said in reference to the US draft. “I don’t think anything noteworthy is going to happen tomorrow.”

Later on Monday, a senior U.S. official said, “We don’t believe in a rush to a vote.” Ahead of council deliberations on the US draft, the official, who spoke under anonymity, said, “We want to engage in the next days in rigorous negotiation around it. Because of this, we are not setting a deadline for the vote, but we are aware of how urgent the matter is.

Many of the 193 U.N. members have backed Arab states in their demands for a cease-fire, which have been in place for months while Israel’s military onslaught has been more intense in response to the Hamas attack that claimed 1,200 lives and kidnapped some 250 more. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that more than 29,000 Palestinians have been murdered; it does not differentiate between militants and civilians, although it does state that women and children make up the bulk of those dead.

This month’s head of the 22-nation Arab Group, Tunisia’s U.N. ambassador Tarek Ladeb, said U.N. reporters last Wednesday that a cease-fire is desperately required.

A “catastrophic scenario” awaits the 1.5 million Palestinians who sought shelter in the southern city of Rafah in Gaza, he said, should Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu carry out his declared plan to evacuate the city’s civilian population and redirect Israel’s military offensive to the region bordering Egypt, where Israel claims Hamas fighters are hiding.

The draft resolution backed by the Arab countries not only calls for an immediate cease-fire but also for the immediate release of all hostages, denounces the forcible relocation of Palestinian civilians, advocates for unimpeded humanitarian access across the entirety of Gaza, and restates council demands that Israel and Hamas “scrupulously comply” with international law, particularly with regard to the protection of civilians. It denounces “all acts of terrorism” without identifying either side.

The U.S. draft resolution states that Israel’s planned big ground attack in Rafah “should not proceed under current circumstances,” sending a strong warning to Israel. Additionally, it issues a warning that any civilian displacement might have a major negative impact on regional peace and security, “including potentially into neighboring countries,” a reference to Egypt.

In a statement released on Sunday, Thomas-Greenfield clarified that the US had been negotiating a hostage agreement for many months. She claimed that in an effort to move the agreement forward, U.S. President Joe Biden had spoken with Netanyahu and the leaders of Egypt and Qatar on many occasions throughout the last week.

“The deal is still the best chance to free the hostages and have a prolonged pause that would enable life-saving aid to reach needy Palestinians, even though there are still gaps,” she added.

For the last three weeks, the fifteen members of the Security Council have been debating the resolution supported by the Arab world. In an attempt to broker a hostage settlement, Algeria, the Arab representation on the council, postponed a vote at the request of the United States when Secretary of State Antony Blinken was recently in the area. The negotiations, however, “have not been progressing as expected,” Qatar stated on Saturday. Over the weekend, the Arab Group also determined that they had given the United States plenty time and submitted their resolution in its final form for a vote.

It is unclear what will happen when the United States vetoes the bill. The resolution put out by the Arab Group has the potential to be accepted by the 193 member states that make up the U.N. General Assembly. However, assembly resolutions are not legally enforceable, in contrast to Security Council decisions.

The longer US draft resolution, which would for the first time denounce not just Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault but also its hostage-taking and death, “murder, and sexual violence including rape,” is expected to be discussed by the Security Council after that. In the two previous council decisions on Gaza, the criticism of Hamas was obstructed by a few members.

Though the US draft does not specifically mention Israel, it makes plain that it “rejects any attempt at demographic or territorial change in Gaza that would violate international law” and “condemns calls by government ministers for the resettlement of Gaza.”