Despite international pressure to tone down its support for Israel, the widely criticized US again blocked the UN Security Council on Tuesday from calling for an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza and conditionally circulated an alternative text to a possible ceasefire .
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The draft resolution, which called for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that must be respected by all parties,” received 13 votes in favor, one abstention (Britain) and one vote against, the third U.S. veto since the start of the war between Israel and the United Kingdom Hamas.
The “irresponsible and dangerous” American veto sends the message that Israel “can continue to do anything with impunity,” criticized Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour.
Hamas also denounced that Israel had given the “green light” for “more massacres” in Gaza.
“The mistakes of today will have their price tomorrow for our region and our world (…) How will history judge you?”, opened the Algerian Ambassador Amar Bendjama, who worked on this text for more than three weeks.
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The Algerian project also notably opposed the “forced displacement of Palestinian civilians,” while Israel mentioned an evacuation of civilians ahead of a ground offensive in Rafah, where 1.4 million people are crowded together in the southern Gaza Strip.
Like previous texts castigated by Israel and the United States, Tuesday's text did not condemn Hamas's unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, which, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people This resulted in 1,160 deaths, mostly civilians.
In retaliation, the Israeli army launched an offensive that, according to the Hamas Health Ministry, left more than 29,000 dead in Gaza, the vast majority of them civilians, and caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the completely besieged Palestinian territories.
“Path of no return”
Not surprisingly, Russia and China rejected the American veto, but many other Council members, France, Malta, Slovenia and Sierra Leone also regretted this decision.
“The number of people and the humanitarian situation in Gaza are unbearable and Israeli operations must stop,” stressed French Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière.
A ground offensive in Rafah “would lead us down a path of no return,” his Slovenian counterpart Samuel Zbogar added. “It is our duty to respond before we wake up in the middle of a nightmare.”
The United States warned this weekend that the Algerian text was unacceptable.
“I understand the Council's desire to act urgently (…), but this desire must not blind us to the reality on the ground and the only path, I repeat, the only path, that leads to lasting peace undermined,” the council stressed on Tuesday. American UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the adoption of this resolution would have been “irresponsible.”
As Israel's main backer, the United States fears that difficult diplomatic negotiations over a ceasefire, including a new release of hostages, could be damaged.
In this context, they circulated an alternative draft resolution, which is available to the AFP.
While they have previously systematically opposed the use of the term “ceasefire” and rejected two texts in October and December, their version advocates a ceasefire, although not immediately and under conditions.
“Push for a veto?”
Following Joe Biden's recent statements, the text therefore calls for a “temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible” and based on a “formula” that provides for the release of all hostages.
The American project, on which no vote is currently scheduled, is also firm on Rafah, warning that “a large-scale ground offensive should not take place under the current conditions.”
However, some question the United States' goal with this text. “Do they really want this resolution or do they want to push for a veto?” one diplomatic source wrote anonymously, citing the high likelihood of a Russian veto over an American-authored text.
In any case, this American project will “make Israel nervous,” Richard Gowan, analyst at the International Crisis Group, commented to AFP. “The United States is finally using the Security Council as a platform to demonstrate the limits of its patience with the Israeli campaign.”
The Council, which has been largely divided on the Israeli-Palestinian issue for years, has been able to adopt only two resolutions on the issue since October 7, which are essentially humanitarian in nature. Without much result: aid deliveries to Gaza remain largely inadequate.