This is the third time that the US has prevented international consensus from ending the Israeli slaughter in Gaza, which began on October 7.

For the third time since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, the US thwarted an attempt to bring about a ceasefire in the Strip, though more than 100,000 Palestinians have been killed and wounded, and many are reportedly starving to death. 

The draft resolution put forward by Algeria “received widespread support in the Council with 13 of its 15 member states voting in favor,” Anadolu agency reported.

It added that “the US was the sole nation to vote against it, and as a permanent Council member, its opposition killed the resolution. The UK, another permanent member, abstained.”

To divide the consensus on the draft, the US, on Monday, pushed for an alternative draft that called for a “temporary truce”,  as soon as practicable. 

The US draft “failed to gain traction with diplomats,” Anadolu reported.  

"There would have been a resolution today if it was not for the US ambassador putting up her hand up in veto. She stopped an immediate ceasefire being ordered in Gaza. This is the 3rd time…"

Remember this every time the US administration says how concerned it is pic.twitter.com/KAX5SKu4b0

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) February 20, 2024

Third Time 

This is the third time that the US has prevented international consensus from ending the Israeli slaughter in Gaza, which began on October 7, following the Palestinian Al-Aqsa Flood operation. 

Though Algerian diplomacy was successful in ensuring a majority vote on the draft, the American intervention once again prevented a move that could have spared thousands of Palestinian lives. 

A US vote in opposition signals support for “murder and hatred,” Algeria’s UN ambassador Amar Bendjama said before the vote, adding,

“A vote in favor of this draft resolution is a support to the Palestinians’ right to life. Conversely, voting against it implies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon them .. Each one of us decides where we stand in this tragic chapter of history.”

Even after the vote, the Algerian diplomat refused to give us. “Algeria will return to knock on the doors of the Security Council once again to call for putting an end to the bloodshed in Palestine.”

BREAKING: US vetoes Gaza cease-fire resolution at UNSC. Third US veto on Gaza, it was Algeria draft https://t.co/5O4KWcd8dk

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) February 20, 2024

Getting Away with Murder

Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s permanent representative, was quoted by Anadolu as saying that Washington’s veto sends a message to Israel “that it can continue to get away with murder.”

“Israel cannot, and should not, and will not, get away with it. We will not allow it,” he said.

“This veto does not absolve Israel of its obligations, nor of those who shield it. Not here in the Security Council. Not in the ICJ, and not anywhere. Even if the Security Council continues to shirk its responsibilities to be obstructed by the veto of a permanent member over and over. The other organs of the international system are upholding their responsibilities.” 

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

On @USAmbUN announcing #US's intent to veto @AlgeriaUN's #Gaza #CeasefireNOW #UNSC draft resolution, @ChinaAmbUN tells @Anade_Situma: "I don't see any reason to block such a move. The killings are going on, the humanitarian catastrophe is continuing to unfold and we have heard… https://t.co/UFfJimOPv4 pic.twitter.com/xkw2wMWIjK

— Rami Ayari (@Raminho) February 19, 2024

The genocide continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 29,195 Palestinians have been killed, and 69,170 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

(AA, PC)