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US vetoes UN Security Council resolution for Gaza ceasefire

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Sat / 9 December 2023 / 09:28

The United States on Friday vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, "diplomatically" shielding its ally.

Tehran (ISNA) - The US deputy representative at the UN, Robert Wood, said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground."

Thirteen Security Council members voted in favor of a brief draft resolution, presented through the UAE, and Britain abstained. The vote came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked the UN charter's Article 99 for it on Wednesday.

"The United Arab Emirates is deeply disappointed," said the representative of the UAE who had sponsored the resolution calling for a ceasefire.

"Regrettably... this council is unable to demand a humanitarian ceasefire."

The US resort to its veto power comes after the Palestinian Health Ministry revealed that the death toll from the Israeli aggression on Gaza has risen to 17,487 martyrs, over 70% of which are children and women, with 56,400 citizens injured with various injuries since the launch of the Israeli war on October 7.

The Ministry added that in the past hours of Friday, over 300 Palestinians were martyred and 600 others injured due to the Israeli bombing of various areas of the Gaza Strip.

Of course, Washington defended its veto and attacked the resolution's sponsors, criticizing them for "rushing it through" and leaving the call for an unconditional ceasefire unchanged.

"This resolution still contains a call for an unconditional ceasefire... it would leave Hamas in place able to repeat what it did on October 7," said US deputy UN representative Robert Wood.

The United States said it opposed an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the UN Security Council meeting on Friday.

"While the United States strongly supports the durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire," said Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood.

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