The United States on Tuesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution drafted by Algeria that would have urged an "immediate" ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, claiming the measure would negatively affect talks between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
It was the fourth time for the United States to use its veto power on the key panel of the world body since the Oct. 7 attack against Israel by Hamas militants. Washington, which backs Israel in the conflict and favors direct negotiations, rejected three other resolutions that would have urged a pause of the conflict in Gaza late last year.
"Demanding an immediate, unconditional ceasefire without an agreement requiring Hamas to release the hostages will not bring about a durable peace," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said during a session before the vote. "Instead, it could extend the fighting between Hamas and Israel."
The resolution would have demanded an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" between the parties at conflict in the Gaza Strip, as well as calling for the "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."
"Wrong decisions today will have a cost on our region and our world tomorrow," said Amar Bendjama, the ambassador of Algeria to the United Nations, who put forward the resolution. "And this cost will be violence and instability," he said.
Thirteen of the 15 members of the council voted in favor, including Japan, while Britain abstained. Resolutions require the affirmative vote of at least nine members in order to pass and for none of the council's five permanent members to exercise its veto.
Since the start of the conflict, the council has endorsed two resolutions on the issue. The first called for "humanitarian pauses" in the fighting, and the second established the position of U.N. humanitarian aid coordinator for the Gaza Strip.
More than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the fighting there began, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
The United States has announced an alternative proposal that would call for a "temporary ceasefire as soon as practicable" for military operations in Gaza, conditioned on the release of all those held captive by the Hamas militant group.
The U.S. proposal also requests that a ground offensive into Gaza's southern Rafah district, where an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians are now living, not take place "under current circumstances."
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