A majority of member states have voted to call for an immediate ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 29,000 people.
The United States has vetoed another UN Security Council resolution on Israel's war in Gaza, blocking calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Arab countries, led by Algeria, on Tuesday rejected the draft resolution in the hopes that it would not pass after Israel's main ally, the United States, did not support the document and proposed a counter-proposal instead. It was put to a vote.
The United States was the only country to vote against the draft, and the United Kingdom abstained. The Palestinian Authority says 13 other members of the UN Security Council have voted in favor of a document calling for an end to the war in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 29,000 people and displaced more than 80% of the population. .
For a United Nations Security Council resolution to be adopted, one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China, must cast at least nine votes in favor and have no veto power. .
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said her country vetoed the resolution over concerns it would jeopardize talks between the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar to broker a pause in the war and the release of Qatari hostages. He said he was exercising his powers. Hamas.
He rejected claims that the veto was a U.S. effort to cover for an imminent Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, where some 1.4 million displaced people have taken refuge. .
Introducing the resolution on Tuesday, Algeria's Ambassador to the United Nations Amal Bendjama said the Security Council “cannot afford to be passive” in the face of what is happening in Gaza, adding that silence “is not a viable option.” No,” he said.
“This resolution stands in defense of truth and humanity, against the champions of murder and hatred,” he said. “Voting no means supporting the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted on them.” [the Palestinians]”
Algeria, the current Arab state on the Security Council, submitted its first draft resolution more than two weeks ago.
The United States announced on Monday that it had proposed a hostile resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire and opposing a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah.
“Softening” of words
“The Algeria draft has been under negotiation for weeks,” Al Jazeera's James Bays said from UN headquarters in New York. “So people were rather surprised that the United States came up with its own draft.”
Bayes said the U.S. draft has not yet been formally presented to board members and it is unclear if and when it will be put to a vote.
However, in a draft statement seen by Al Jazeera, he added, “The US's language has softened, and the US is using the word 'ceasefire' for the first time.” [previously] controversial for the United States. ”
Until now, the U.S. government has been reluctant to use the term “ceasefire” in any U.N. actions related to wars, but the text of the draft resolution echoes U.S. President Joe Biden's conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. This reflects the language used in the article.
The U.S. draft resolution states that the Security Council “underscores its support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable, on the basis of the release of all hostages, and supports the provision of large-scale humanitarian assistance to “We will call for the removal of barriers.”
The US draft also warned Israel not to launch a ground attack in Rafah, stating that “the Security Council should emphasize that under the current circumstances such a large-scale ground attack should not proceed.'' ” he said.
Meanwhile, the resolution drafted by Algeria, which was vetoed by the United States, is subject to an “immediate called for a ceasefire. Separately, they also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
The US government has traditionally protected Israel from UN action and has so far vetoed two other Security Council resolutions since the war began on October 7.
