Russia, China vetoed the US resolution on Gaza supporting Israel
The US resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza linked to the prisoner and hostage program has been opposed by Russia and China in the UN Security Council due to its support for Israel.
Eleven members of the Security Council voted for the resolution on Friday where Russia, China and Algeria voted against it and Guyana did not vote. As permanent members of the security council, the votes of Russia and China were counted as vetoes.
Before the vote, Russia's UN envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, pointed out that the United States had vetoed four previous resolutions calling for a ceasefire since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza on October 7. , and noted that the American resolution did not directly demand a cessation of hostilities.
China's ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, has said that the Security Council has been "dragging its feet" for too long on the issue of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
He added that the resolution proposed by the United States avoided the issue of a ceasefire, was vague and avoided calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, said the US draft resolution was rejected for "obvious reasons", calling it "one-sided" and noting that it mentioned Israel only once.
He told reporters, "We refuse to claim what is happening as a matter of terrorism. It is a genocide against the entire Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip."
The deputy representative of Russia to the United Nations in response to the draft resolution proposed by the United States regarding the establishment of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, said:
There was and is no call for a ceasefire in this resolution, but it actually gives the green light to Israeli military operations in Rafah. The city of Rafah is located in the south of the Gaza Strip and the Zionist army has attacked various areas of this area since October 7, 2023, as a result of which about 32 thousand Palestinians have been martyred and more than 74 thousand others have been injured.
The resolution proposed by the United States to impose a cease-fire in Gaza, which has been amended so far, is likely to be presented to the UN Security Council by the end of the week. The US resolution came after Washington vetoed several earlier UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Dimitry Polyansky, the first deputy permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, on Thursday, commenting on the draft of the American resolution on the cease-fire in Gaza, said: We must not fall for the illusions of Washington, America does not want a real ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and has given Israel full authority. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, on Wednesday, before his trip to Egypt, expressing hope that countries will support the draft US resolution, said: We stand by Israel and its right to defend itself to ensure that the attacks of 7 October do not happen again, but at the same time, it is imperative that the civilians who are at risk and suffering terribly are put first.
They must be protected and receive humanitarian aid. While America has submitted a resolution to reach a cease-fire in Gaza at the United Nations, it has thwarted resolutions proposed by other countries three times during Israel's attack on Gaza, using its veto power. It has provided military, financial and political aid to the occupying Zionist regime.
