The US on Wednesday vetoed a UN resolution demanding an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. The other 14 members of the UN Security Council voted in favour of the resolution.
US vetoes fourth UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire resolution
The resolution, the latest of many Gaza ceasefire resolutions to reach the Security Council, called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” However, the US said it disagreed with the demand for an “unconditional ceasefire” that “did not result in the release of hostages.”
Other member countries expressed their disappointment at the failure of the resolution. The representative of China noted that “insisting on a precondition for a ceasefire is tantamount to giving the green light to continue the war.”
The observer for Palestine shared similar disappointment, saying that “this veto is a dangerous signal to Israel that it can go ahead with its plans.” This is the fourth ceasefire resolution the US has vetoed in the Security Council since October 7 last year. A US-backed resolution endorsing the implementation of a three-phase ceasefire plan was passed in June, but little has changed in the conflict since then.
The UN resolution, which would have also demanded the unimpeded flow of aid into Gaza and rejected “any attempt to starve the Palestinians,” failed in light of recent UN reports that northern Gaza has received virtually no aid for the past 40 days and that Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war.
Senate motions blocking arms sales to Israel fail, but pick up Democrat support
The Senate voted Wednesday on Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders’ attempt to block a series of planned US arms sales to Israel.
Eighteen Democrats voted to block the transfer of $774 worth of tank shells, 19 Democrats sought to block the sale of $61 million worth of mortar shells, and 17 Democrats sought to stop the sale of $262 worth of Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM).
All Republican senators present and a 51-member Democratic majority rejected all three joint resolutions of dissent, led by progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, which were known in advance to be dead on arrival due to bipartisan support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas.
But the vote underscored the growing discomfort among Democrats over the IDF’s campaign in the Gaza Strip and the party split it has caused.
A Sanders-backed resolution in January to freeze US aid to Israel unless the State Department reports within 30 days on alleged Israeli human rights abuses in the Gaza Strip received just 10 Democratic votes, although some senators may have voted with the November election in mind.
Much of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced and the U.S. has warned of the possibility of famine after more than a year of fighting sparked by a Hamas offensive on October 7 that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages. Hamas officials say the Israeli offensive has killed more than 43,922 Palestinians.
