INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The United States on Wednesday vetoed a U.N
Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, drawing criticism of the Biden administration for once again blocking international
action aimed at halting Israel&s war with Hamas.The 15-member council voted on a resolution put forward by 10 non-permanent members that
called for an &immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire& in the 13-month conflict and separately demanded the release of hostages,
Reuters reported.Only the United States voted against, using its veto as a permanent council member to block the resolution.Robert Wood,
deputy United States ambassador to the U.N., said Washington had made clear it would only support a resolution that explicitly calls for
the immediate release of hostages as part of a ceasefire.A durable end to the war must come with the release of the hostages
These two urgent goals are inextricably linked
This resolution abandoned that necessity, and for that reason, the United States could not support it,& he said.Wood said the United States
had sought compromise, but the text of the proposed resolution would have sent a &dangerous message& to Hamas that ''there&s no need to come
back to the negotiating table.Israel&s campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 44,000 people and displaced nearly all the enclave&s population at
It was launched in response to an attack by Hamas-led fighters who killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages in Israel on Oct
7, 2023.Members roundly criticized the United States for blocking the resolution put forward by the council&s 10 elected members: Algeria,
Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Switzerland.It is deeply regretted that due to the use of
the veto this council has once again failed to uphold its responsibility to maintain international peace and security,& Malta&s U.N
Ambassador Vanessa Frazier said after the vote failed, adding that the text of the resolution &was by no means a maximalist one.It
represented the bare minimum of what is needed to begin to address the desperate situation on the ground,& she said.Food security experts
have warned that famine is imminent among Gaza&s 2.3 million people.United States President Joe Biden, who leaves office on Jan
20, has offered Israel strong diplomatic backing and continued to provide arms for the war, while trying unsuccessfully to broker a
ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that would see hostages released in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.After blocking earlier
resolutions on Gaza, Washington in March abstained from a vote that allowed a resolution to pass demanding an immediate ceasefire.A senior
United States official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of Wednesday&s vote, said Britain had put forward new
language that the United States would have supported as a compromise, but that was rejected by the elected members.Some members were more
interested in bringing about a United States veto than compromising on the resolution, the official said, accusing United States
adversaries Russia and China of encouraging those members.lsquo;GREEN LIGHTFrance&s ambassador Nicolas de Riviere said the resolution
rejected by the United States &very firmly& required the release of hostages.France still has two hostages in Gaza, and we deeply regret
that the Security Council was not able to formulate this demand,& he said.China&s U.N
ambassador, Fu Cong, said each time the United States had exercised its veto to protect Israel, the number of people killed in Gaza had
steadily risen.How many more people have to die before they wake up from their pretend slumber?& he asked.Insistence on setting a
precondition for ceasefire is tantamount to giving the green light to continue the war and condoning the continued killing.Israel&s U.N
ambassador Danny Danon said ahead of the vote the text was not a resolution for peace but was &a resolution for appeasement& of
Hamas.History will remember who stood with the hostages and who abandoned them,& Danon said.
