Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN Headquarters in New York on December 22, 2023. (Shutterstock)
US delegation vetoes United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and removal of all restrictions on aid entry to Gaza.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
The United States on Wednesday blocked a resolution in the United Nations Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and removal of Israel’s limits on the entry of humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave.
The draft resolution, S/2025/353, was put together by Slovenia, Guyana, and Algeria, three of the UNSC’s 10 non-permanent, rotating member states and cosponsored by the seven other rotating member states, including Sierra Leone, Mozambique, South Korea, Japan, Ecuador, Malta, and Switzerland.
Fourteen of the 15 UNSC members voted in favor of the resolution, including Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom.
If passed, the resolution would have ordered that Israel and Hamas observe “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza,” effectively ending the current war.
In addition, the measure called for the “immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions” on the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip and expressed concern over what it dubbed the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the coastal enclave.
The resolution also called on Gaza terror groups to agree to the “immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.”
However, Dorothy Shea, the U.S. acting ambassador to the UN, utilized America’s veto power on the council after she called the measure “unacceptable.”
“U.S. opposition to this resolution should come as no surprise – it is unacceptable for what it does say, it is unacceptable for what it does not say, and it is unacceptable for the manner in which it has been advanced,” she said.
“We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza.
“We cannot allow the Security Council to award Hamas’ intransigence.”
After the vote, the World Jewish Congress lauded the U.S. veto.
“Today’s proposed UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire could not have been more detached from reality. On October 7, Hamas—with backing from Iran—launched a barbaric terrorist assault on Israel. It still holds 58 hostages and has made clear it would strike again,” said WJC President Ronald Lauder.
Wednesday’s vote marks the first time the U.S. has employed its veto power in a UNSC vote on the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office on January 20.
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