This time, the United States did not veto the vote in the UN Security Council.
Israel has expressed its indignation to its ally the United States about the UN Security Council resolution, in which the UN demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
This time, the US did not block the ceasefire resolution by using its veto power in the Security Council yesterday. Instead, the United States abstained.
The other member states of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution.
In the past, the United States has vetoed ceasefire resolutions in the Security Council three times.
Yesterday, the UN Security Council voted on a resolution calling for a ceasefire during the ongoing Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Ramadan continues for another two weeks.
The resolution also calls on the extremist organization Hamas to release the hostages it has kidnapped from Israel. According to Israel, there are more than a hundred hostages held by the extremist organization Hamas.
UN Security Council resolutions are legally binding.
However, the United States has described the Security Council resolution as non-binding.
Netanyahu: The US has abandoned its previous policy
After the vote, the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a high-level meeting between the two countries in Washington. Netanyahu accuses the United States of “abandoning its previous policy”.
According to Netanyahu’s office, the UN resolution gives Hamas hopes that international pressure will force Israel to agree to a ceasefire without releasing the hostages.
According to Israel, the US decision not to use its veto is detrimental to Israel’s military operations and the release of hostages.
US opposes ground attack on Rafah
In the meeting that Israel canceled, the US and Israel were supposed to discuss Israel’s planned ground attack on Rafah, southern Gaza.
About 1.5 million Gazans out of the region’s 2.3 million inhabitants have fled to Rafah.
The United States has said it opposes the attack, and the threat of an attack has increased tensions between the allies. Gaza is also threatened with imminent famine, which has increased the pressure of the international community for a ceasefire.
Israel attacked Gaza after Hamas, the extremist organization that ruled Gaza, attacked Israel in October. Hamas and the smaller terrorist groups that support it killed 1,200 people in Israel.
According to the Ministry of Health under Hamas, the extremist organization that ruled Gaza, Israel has killed 32,000 people in the Gaza war.
March 26, 2024 at 1:46 p.m.: Case clarified: A sentence has been added to the case: UN Security Council resolutions are legally binding.