US again vetoes UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza

UNITED NATIONS: The US on Tuesday once again rejected a draft resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict by the 15-member UN Security Council, obstructing a call for an urgent humanitarian truce and pressuring the group to instead seek a temporary ceasefire tied to the release of Hamas detainees.
Britain abstained, while thirteen council members supported the wording provided by Algeria.

Since the conflict began on October 7, there have been three US vetoes of this kind.
A halt in the conflict and the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are the two main reasons for the US’s likely rejection of the draft resolution, as indicated by US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s indication on Saturday. “A lasting peace cannot be achieved by calling for an instant, unconditional ceasefire in the absence of a deal compelling Hamas to free the captives. Rather, it may prolong the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” Thomas-Greenfield informed the council before to the vote.

The resolution, prepared in Algeria and rejected by the US, did not associate the release of captives with a ceasefire. Separately, it called for the unconditional release of all captives and an urgent humanitarian truce.

According to language seen by Reuters on Monday, the US has now put up a competing draft resolution advocating for a short-term truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict and opposing a significant ground attack by its partner Israel in Rafah. It said that it would not rush into a vote and that it will provide time for discussions. Although the US document uses wording that President Joe Biden said he used last week in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Washington has up to now avoided using the phrase ceasefire in any UN action on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The US proposal would have the Security Council “underscore its support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable, based on the formula of all hostages being released, and calls for lifting all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance at scale.” Washington has now suggested a Security Council resolution on Gaza twice since October 7. Its first effort in late October was rebuffed by China and Russia.