UN envoy criticizes latest US veto of Gaza cease-fire resolution

The United States on Wednesday once again vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Fourteen members of the Security Council voted in favor of a new resolution introduced by 10 nonpermanent members that called for "an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire to be respected by all parties". The resolution also reiterated the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

The US was the sole member to vote against the resolution, the sixth time that it has blocked the council's effort to demand a cease-fire in the 13-month war.

"China is very disappointed with the result of today's vote," said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations. "The US' single use of veto has shattered the Gazan people's hope for survival and pushed them further into darkness and desperation.

"We cannot imagine how the vote today, as well as the council's failure to respond to the Gaza conflict over the past 13 months, can escape the harsh judgment of history," he said.

The Security Council adopted its first cease-fire resolution in June, endorsing a three-phase deal proposed by the US. The US said then that Israel had accepted the cease-fire proposal, but the war still continued.

"People cannot help but ask: Do Palestinian lives mean nothing? Can the deaths of 44,000 people not win even a little bit of sympathy from the United States?" Fu said.

"How many more people have to die to wake them up from pretending to be asleep?" he said. "Forty-four thousand. This is not just a number. Behind it could be a child, a nursing mother, or a breadwinner of a family."

Nearly 3,000 civilians had been killed in Gaza when the US cast its first veto on Oct 18 last year. By the second veto, the death toll from Israeli bombardment had risen to 17,000. The vetoes continued, and by April 18 this year, with the fifth veto, the number of deaths had surged to 34,000, Fu explained.

"It is incomprehensible that for the past year or so, the United States has been so insistent in rendering the council incapable of playing its role, leading to its paralysis," Fu said.

"The US has claimed to be conducting parallel diplomatic efforts and has repeatedly promised that progress would be made soon in the negotiations," he said. "Why is Israel allowed to continue its military operations while constantly putting forth new conditions for negotiations?"

Israel has "flagrantly breached" international humanitarian law," Fu said. Even with a famine about to break out in Gaza, the US has consistently defended Israel, demonstrating a "double standard".

This "selective disregard" for humanitarian principles and the US' ongoing arms supply have prolonged the war, Fu added.

The US ambassador said the resolution was vetoed because it did not make the cease-fire contingent on the release of the hostages held in Gaza, despite the measure calling for their release after a cease-fire was implemented.

"Our position has been very clear from the beginning. All hostages must be released," Fu said. "An immediate and unconditional cease-fire must be established. Both are important. There should be no preconditions attached, and the two things should not be linked to each other.

"Facts have shown that Israel's military operations in Gaza have long exceeded the scope of rescuing hostages," he said. "Insistence on setting preconditions for a cease-fire is tantamount to giving the green light to prolong the war and condone the continued killing."

Fu said that the US' repeated use of the veto has reduced the authority of the Security Council and international law to "an all-time low".

"But it is never too late to recognize and correct the mistakes. We call on the US to take its responsibilities as a permanent member of the council seriously, stop being passive and evasive, and stop the deliberate procrastination," Fu said.

Amar Bendjama, Algeria's ambassador to the UN said: "It is a sad day for the Security Council, for the United Nations and for the international community. Today's message is clear to the Israeli occupying power: First you may continue your genocide. You may continue your collective punishment of the Palestinian people with complete impunity. In this chamber, you enjoy immunity."