The US vetoes a resolution in the UN Security Council to call for a ceasefire in Gaza

The Palestinian permanent representative to the UN: "This is a dark day for the Security Council"

This Friday, the United States vetoed a resolution presented to the United Nations Security Council to request a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, invoked article 99 of the Magna Carta. of the organism.

Specifically, 13 countries have voted in favor of the text presented by the United Arab Emirates, while one has voted against it, the United States, which has the right to veto as a permanent member of the Council. For its part, the United Kingdom has abstained.

The resolution expresses "deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population" and calls for "Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations to be protected in accordance with Humanitarian Law."

In this sense, "demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire; "reiterates its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under International Law" and calls for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as that humanitarian access is guaranteed" to the entire Gaza Strip.

The deputy ambassador of the United States to the United Nations, Robert Wood, justified after the vote that they did not support the resolution "so that an unsustainable ceasefire becomes a reality that will only sow the seeds of subsequent wars."

"We cannot understand why the actors who presented the resolution did not want to include language condemning the horrible terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, which has caused the death of more than 1,200 people," he stressed, adding that it does not condemn sexual violence either. carried out by the Islamist group.

In this sense, it has urged to investigate these sexual criminal acts. "The resolution also does not call for a return to humanitarian pauses to allow for increased aid and the release of hostages. This formula has worked," she said.

"This text also did not recognize that Israel has the right to defend itself. If any of our own countries were attacked in this way, we would all expect this Council to reaffirm our right to protect our citizens," he stated.

For his part, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has celebrated that the United States has remained by his side. "A little light has repelled a lot of darkness," he said, adding that "a ceasefire is only possible with the return home of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas."

"It is shocking that when Hamas is launching rockets against Gush Dan from populated sites in southern Gaza, the UN is busy with a debate disconnected (from reality) about a resolution that is on the wrong side and does not even condemn Hamas" , he has sentenced, as reported by the newspaper 'The Times of Israel'.

The representative of the State of Palestine to the UN, Riad Mansur, has stated that it is "a turning point in History." "It is more than regrettable: it is a disaster that the Security Council could once again not rise to the occasion, fulfilling its clear responsibilities," he stressed.

Mansur has highlighted that after "two months of massacres" carried out by Israel "war criminals are being given more time to continue committing their crimes." "The killers have no respect for Palestinian life, from the cradle to the grave," he argued.

"This is a disastrous day for the Security Council. We reject this result and we will continue to resort to all legitimate means to stop these atrocities," he stated, adding that "with each passing day, barbarism prevails."

The vote comes after the United Nations Secretary General invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, thus alerting the Security Council to the humanitarian situation in the Middle East and urging the body to "press to" avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. .

The Ministry of Health of the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), has already recorded almost 17,500 fatalities as a result of the military offensive launched two months ago by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on the Palestinian enclave.