The US deputy ambassador to the UN Security Council said the draft resolution was ‘disconnected’ from reality.
The United States on Friday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution advocating for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and criticized the council’s failure to condemn the Oct. 7 terror attacks as a “serious moral failure.”
In remarks to the Security Council, U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood said the draft text was “disconnected” from reality.
“We still cannot comprehend why the resolution’s authors declined to include language condemning Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack on Israel on October 7,” Mr. Wood said.
The United States, which holds veto power, is one of five permanent members of the Security Council, alongside Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom. The non-permanent members include Brazil, Albania, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, and Japan.
The United Arab Emirates, which holds the presidency of the council for December, put forward the resolution, which 13 member nations voted in favor of, except for the United Kingdom, which abstained.
“This Council’s failure to condemn Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attacks—including its acts of sexual violence and other unthinkable evils—is a serious moral failure. And it underscores the fundamental disconnect between the discussions that we have been having in this Chamber and the realities on the ground,” said Mr. Wood.
The United States has actively supported Israel’s right to defend against terrorism through intensive diplomacy while at the same time aiding Gaza with humanitarian efforts. Despite these efforts, the breakdown of a temporary truce and the resumption of fighting occurred due to Hamas’s refusal to release hostages.
Many of the young female hostages that Hamas refused to release “are being subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment,” said Mr. Wood, citing survivor accounts.
While the United States supports “a durable peace” between Israelis and Palestinians, Mr. Wood noted that Hamas “continues to pose a threat to Israel and remain in charge of Gaza.”
“That is not a threat that any one of our governments would allow to continue to remain on our own borders. Not after the worst attack on our people in several decades,” he said. “For that reason, while the United States strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire.
“This would only plant the seeds for the next war—because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace, to see a two-state solution,” he added.
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