The United States (US) on Friday, 8 December, vetoed a United Nations (UN) resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
As many as 13 UN Security Council members voted in favour of the draft resolution, which was put forward by the United Arab Emirates. While the US vetoed it, Britain abstained from voting.
“While the US strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israel and Palestine 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,” Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN, said, as per Reuters.
The US and Israel have argued that a ceasefire would only be advantageous for Hamas, as it would help them regroup and amass greater resources. The US government, however, has called for pauses in the war for the protection of civilians and the release of hostages by Hamas.
A seven-day pause – which saw the exchange of prisoners and inflow of humanitarian aid to Gaza – came to an end on 1 December.
The vote on the ceasefire had come after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres cited the rarely-used Article 99 of the UN Charter to bring the Security Council's attention on "any matter which, in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security".
(With inputs from Reuters.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)