US vetoes UN Security Council resolution seeking action on Israel, Gaza

The United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday.

Washington once again traditionally shields its ally Israel from any Security Council action.

The resolution called for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.

The draft resolution also urged Israel – without naming it – to rescind its order for civilians and U.N. staff in Gaza to move to the south of the Palestinian enclave and condemned “the terrorist attacks by Hamas.”

The vote on the Brazilian-drafted text was twice delayed in the past couple of days as the United States tries to broker aid access to Gaza.

Twelve members voted in favor of the draft text on Wednesday, while Russia and Britain abstained.

“We are on the ground doing the hard work of diplomacy,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the 15-member council after the vote.

“We believe we need to let that diplomacy play out.”

“Yes, resolutions are important. And yes, this council must speak out. But the actions we take must be informed by the facts on the ground and support direct diplomacy efforts. That can save lives. The council needs to get this right,” she said.

A Russian-drafted resolution that called for a humanitarian ceasefire failed to pass on Monday.

“We have just been witnesses once again of hypocrisy and the double standards of our American colleagues,” said Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia.

China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun accused the US of leading council members to believe that the resolution could be adopted after it did not comment or express opposition during negotiations.

“The final result of the vote is nothing short of unbelievable,” he told the council.