The United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday aimed at forcing Israel into a ceasefire that would end the war with Hamas without mandating the return of the 101 hostages still being held in Gaza by the terrorists.
Prior to the vote, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters the resolution was “nothing short of a betrayal; it betrays the 101 innocent hostages still held by Hamas, their grieving families and the very principles the UN claims to defend.”
“We made clear throughout negotiations, we could not support an unconditional ceasefire that failed to release the hostages,” said US alternate representative to the UN Robert Wood following the vote.
“Simply put, this resolution would have sent a dangerous message to Hamas: there’s no need to come back to the negotiating table.”
The resolution called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza – precisely the unchanging demand of the terrorist organization since Israel launched its response to the war launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The US was the sole dissenting vote on the 15-members body, but since Washington is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, it has veto power, as do the other four permanent Council members: China, Russia, UK and France.
