United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attends a United Nations Security Council meeting about his invoking Article 99 of the United Nations charter to address the humanitarian crisis in the midst of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas at the UN headquarters in New York City, U.S., December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
United Nations, United States 鈥斅燭he United States on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire in the intense fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Washington dashed a growing clamor for an immediate ceasefire that had been led by UN chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations.
American envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was 鈥渄ivorced from reality鈥� and 鈥渨ould have not moved the needle forward on the ground.鈥�
搁贰础顿:听
He attacked the resolution鈥檚 sponsors, criticizing them for rushing it through and leaving the call for an unconditional ceasefire unchanged.
鈥淭his resolution still contains a call for an unconditional ceasefire鈥� it would leave Hamas in place able to repeat what it did on October 7,鈥� Wood said.
Guterres had convened an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after weeks of fighting left more than 17,487 people dead in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the latest toll from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
鈥淭he United Arab Emirates is deeply disappointed,鈥� said the representative of the UAE which had sponsored the resolution.
鈥淩egrettably鈥� this council is unable to demand a humanitarian ceasefire.鈥�
As a permanent Security Council member, Washington can veto any resolution, while Britain, also a member, abstained on the vote, and the 13 other members voted in favor.
鈥淚f you support it (this war) you are supporting crimes against humanity,鈥� said the Palestinian representative to the UN Riyad Mansour. 鈥淭his is a terrible day for the Security Council.鈥�
Israel praised Washington鈥檚 veto, with the country鈥檚 UN envoy Gilad Erdan thanking 鈥渢he United States and President Biden for standing firmly by our side.鈥�
Ahead of the vote, Guterres had said that 鈥渢he brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.鈥�
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting about his invoking Article 99 of the United Nations charter to address the humanitarian crisis in the midst of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas at the UN headquarters in New York City, U.S., December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
聽鈥楥omplicit鈥� in slaughter
Vowing to destroy the Islamist movement, Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza and sent in tanks and ground troops since the war began on October 7 with unprecedented attacks by Hamas on southern Israel.
Those attacks left 1,200 people dead, Israel says.
Earlier this week, Israel called on the UN to investigate one aspect of the attack 鈥� alleged sexual violence by Hamas fighters against Israeli women.
鈥淚 unreservedly condemn those attacks. I am appalled by the reports of sexual violence,鈥� Guterres said ahead of the vote.
鈥淭here is no possible justification for deliberately killing some 1,200 people, including 33 children, injuring thousands more and taking hundreds of hostages.鈥�
Guterres deployed rarely-used Article 99 of the UN Charter to bring to the council鈥檚 attention 鈥渁ny matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.鈥�
No one in his job had done this in decades.
搁贰础顿:听UN General Assembly calls for 鈥榟umanitarian truce鈥� in Gaza
Guterres had sought a 鈥渉umanitarian ceasefire鈥� to prevent 鈥渁 catastrophe with potentially irreversible implications for Palestinians鈥� and the entire Middle East.
Russia鈥檚 deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said 鈥渙ur colleagues from the USA have literally before our eyes issued a death sentence to thousands, if not tens of thousands, more civilians in Palestine.鈥�
Medecins Sans Frontiers said Security Council inaction made the body 鈥渃omplicit in the ongoing slaughter鈥� while Human Rights Watch said 鈥渂y continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover鈥� the US risks complicity in war crimes.鈥�
Several previous attempts to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire were vetoed.
Vast areas of Gaza have been reduced to a wasteland. The United Nations says about 80 percent of the population has been displaced, facing shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine, along with the threat of disease.
鈥淚nternational humanitarian law includes the duty to protect civilians,鈥� Guterres said.
His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres 鈥渞emains determined to push for a humanitarian ceasefire.鈥�
Four draft resolutions had already been rejected in the weeks following October 7, for lack of sufficient backing, or because of Russian, Chinese or US vetoes.