The US ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, insisted that the United States had incorporated feedback from the rest of the world since its veto.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, promoting the resolution during a high-level Security Council session on Tuesday, spoke of “humanitarian pauses” even while ruling out a formal ceasefire.
“The United States is deeply disappointed that Russia and China vetoed this resolution,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “We did listen to all of you.”
She accused Russia, often on the receiving end of criticism since its invasion of Ukraine, of “cynical and irresponsible behaviour” for putting forward its own text “with zero consultations” and “a number of problematic sections”.
Only Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates and Gabon voted for the draft resolution. The US and Britain voted no, with the other nine countries including US allies France and Japan abstaining.
The UAE ambassador, Lana Nusseibeh, said that the Security Council needed to respond “tangibly” to the dire situation in Gaza.
At the high-level session on Tuesday, “we heard dozens of statements imploring this council to assign the same value to Palestinian life as it does to Israeli life”, she said.
“We cannot allow any equivocation on this point. There is no hierarchy of civilian lives.”
With the Security Council deadlocked, the broader UN General Assembly is scheduled to debate the war on Thursday and Friday.
Resolutions from this body representing all UN members, with no one holding veto power, are non-binding. Still, Arab countries are working on a resolution that could be voted on this week, diplomats said.
This draft seen by AFP urges an immediate ceasefire and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza.
Israel has been bombarding since Oct 7 when Hamas gunmen poured across the border killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 222 others, officials say, in the worst attack in Israel’s history.
So far, more than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians, and there are fears the toll could further soar if Israel pushes ahead with a widely expected ground invasion in a bid to destroy Hamas and rescue the hostages.
Source: CNA
