Russia and China use their veto against the US draft resolution regarding the war in Gaza

On Friday, Russia and China used their veto power in the UN Security Council against a US draft resolution supporting the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as Moscow considered it “a hypocritical play, because it doesn’t include any pressure mechanism on Israel.

The United States, which had previously vetoed calls for a ceasefire, proposed the draft resolution that would have for the first time upheld “the inevitability of an immediate and sustainable ceasefire” while condemning the October 7 attacks by Hamas.

The draft resolution received the support of 11 of the 15 members of the Council, while three countries, China, Russia and Algeria, rejected it, and Guyana abstained from voting.

Russian delegate Vasily Nebenzia saw that the United States was not making any efforts to restrain Israel, mocking Washington for talking about a ceasefire after “Gaza was effectively wiped off the face of the earth”.

He added, “We witnessed a usual play involving hypocrisy”.

He stressed that “the American product (the draft resolution) is overly politicized and its only goal is to appease voters and offer them a bait by referring to some kind of ceasefire in Gaza”.

He added that the draft resolution “guarantees immunity for Israel, whose crimes the draft doesn’t even mention”.

The draft resolution links the ceasefire to the ongoing talks led by Qatar with the support of the United States and Egypt to stop the war in exchange for Hamas’ release of the hostages.

On the other hand, the US representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, described the Russian and Chinese veto as not only malicious, but also ridiculous.

“Russia and China simply don’t want to vote in favor of a resolution drafted by the United States,” she said.

She continued, “Frankly, in light of all this enthusiastic rhetoric, we all know that Russia and China aren’t making any diplomatic efforts towards achieving a lasting peace or to significantly assist in humanitarian response efforts”.

For its part, Algeria considered that the American draft resolution on the situation in the Gaza Strip, which it voted against on Friday, “didn’t carry a clear message of peace, and would have allowed the killing of more Palestinian civilians”.

This was stated by Algeria’s representative to the Security Council, Ambassador Ammar Ben Jama, after the US draft resolution was dropped following Russia and China’s use of veto power.

In his speech before the Security Council, Ben Jammeh said, “The text submitted for voting today (Friday) didn’t carry a clear message of peace, and it allowed for the killing of more Palestinian civilians, and did not provide the necessary guarantees to prevent further escalation of violence”.

He added that the project proposed by Washington “contains a license to continue bloodshed”.

The draft resolution didn’t include a clear demand or call for Israel to cease fire in Gaza.

Instead, it stated that there was an “utmost necessity to reach an immediate ceasefire” to protect civilians on all sides and allow essential humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza.

Explaining the justifications for his country’s vote NO on the US draft resolution, the Algerian delegate explained that the Arab group at the United Nations has always given priority to three main elements in confronting the aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza, which are stopping Immediate shooting, unhindered access of humanitarian aid, and rejection of forced displacement.

He added that the US draft resolution, which was presented to Security Council members for a vote, “didn’t live up to these expectations”.

He pointed out that his country’s main goal is to put an end to the massacre that Gaza has been suffering for more than five months.

In a related context, the Algerian delegate expressed his deep concern about the possible Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and warned of its devastating consequences.

The spokesman considered that the Security Council failed to express a clear rejection of this attack.

The Algerian delegate also stressed the importance of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in helping Palestinian refugees, saying that “any draft resolution that undermines UNRWA’s mandate or restricts its operations threatens to exacerbate the already deteriorating humanitarian situation; Such a decision is unacceptable”.

Diplomatic sources reported on Friday that the UN Security Council will vote on Saturday on a draft resolution that clearly calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after the Russian and Chinese Veto of a draft US resolution that referred to a ceasefire.

On Friday, the United States presented to the UN Security Council a draft resolution supporting an immediate ceasefire in Gaza linked to the release of the hostages, for the first time since the outbreak of the war, but its approval remains in question, with Russia demanding a clearer “call” to end the fighting.

The draft resolution states “the utmost necessity of reaching an immediate and sustainable ceasefire” to protect civilians from all parties and allow the delivery of basic humanitarian aid to Gaza, and supports “to this end” the ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire.

This was “in connection with the release of all remaining hostages”.