DaysofPal- The US vetoed a resolution at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday calling for “an immediate, unconditional, and permanent” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The UN Security Council voted 14-1 in favor of the resolution sponsored by the 10 elected members of the 15-member council, but it was not adopted due to the US veto.
Washington had objected to the resolution’s demand for “an unconditional” ceasefire, even though it called for the release of prisoners detained in Gaza.
“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.
Since Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in October of last year, the administration of US President Joe Biden has vetoed a resolution demanding an end to the conflict four times. Washington’s bipartisan diplomatic support for Israel is nothing new; it has been going on for decades.
The US has been Israel’s largest ally in the international body and has frequently used its veto power at the Security Council to block diplomatic measures targeting Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. The US also provides Israel with about $3 billion in military aid annually.
The Jewish Virtual Library reports that since the United States began using its veto power in 1970, it has blocked draft Security Council resolutions involving Israel 48 other times.
Security Council members have attempted to introduce resolutions urging a ceasefire and an end to the fighting in Gaza ever since the war started. However, these efforts have been blocked on numerous occasions by the US. Since the war began, Washington has blocked four different resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
A resolution to acknowledge Palestine as a full member of the UN has also been blocked by the US.
The US has been accused by numerous world leaders of trying to thwart a ceasefire request at the international body, and Washington’s western allies have also expressed regret over the measures’ failure.
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