The United States used its veto power in the UN Security Council and prevented the adoption of a resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.
On Friday, the United States rejected a UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate ceasefire in war-torn Gaza.
The United States used its veto and Britain abstained, the other 13 member countries of the Security Council supported the resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan thanked the United States for its support. According to him, Israel is ready for a ceasefire only when all the hostages held by Hamas have been released and the terrorist organization has been destroyed.
Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour called Friday a “sad day”. According to him, the Palestinians are frustrated with the UN, which is unable to prevent the Israeli armed forces from killing thousands of Palestinians.
Non-governmental organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also criticized US support for Israel.
– By blocking this resolution, the United States has shown cold indifference to the suffering of civilians, commented the Secretary General of Amnesty International Agnès Callamard in the organization’s bulletin.
Who will benefit from the ceasefire?
The United States and Israel oppose the cease-fire, as they see it as beneficial to the armed struggle of the terrorist organization Hamas.
According to the now shelved resolution, the purpose of the cease-fire was to protect civilians, promote the release of hostages and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
A seven-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended on December 1. During that time, Hamas released some hostages and more humanitarian aid was delivered to Gaza.
The Israeli armed forces said on Friday that they had struck about 450 targets in the last 24 hours. This is the largest number of attacks since the ceasefire with Hamas ended more than a week ago.
Nearly 17,500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel attacked Gaza, the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry announced on Friday.
The Israeli armed forces struck Gaza after the forces of the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel in early October, killing about a thousand civilians and hundreds of policemen and soldiers.
Sources: Reuters, AFP