Veto Kejatan Senjata Di Gaza, AS: Hamas Masih Ada

JAKARTA - In accordance with the predictions of many parties, the United States (US) on Friday night vetoed a UN Security Council (DK) resolution draft demanding a ceasefire to stop the bloodshed that is taking place in the Gaza Strip.

The text, sponsored by nearly 100 UN members, has the support of 13 members of the Security Council. Meanwhile, Britain, a permanent member of the UN DK who has veto rights, chose abstain.

The draft resolution calls on all parties in conflict to comply with international law, particularly protection for civilians, demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and asks UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to report to the council on the implementation of the ceasefire.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which introduced the draft, said it was trying to quickly resolve the resolution as the death toll increased during the 63-day war.

Guterres on Wednesday used Article 99 of the UN Charter for the first time since he took office at the top of the organization in 2017, calling for the formation of a ceasefire and saying that current conditions in Gaza did not allow it to be carried out "mean humanitarian operations."

After the US dismissed the bill, Mohamed Abushahab, a UAE representative, lamented his failure, saying "very unfortunate, amid the unpredictable misery (Gaza residents), this council was unable to demand a humanitarian ceasefire."

"I want to be clear: with the strong warning from the Secretary-General, calls for humanitarian actors (and) the world's public opinion, this council is increasingly isolated. This does not seem to be tied to its own establishment documents," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, December 9.

"Disappointing results from this vote will not prevent us from continuing to appeal to council members to act and end violence in Gaza. This council must unite and act to end this war, and the UAE will continue to assert it," he added.

"We recorded the results in the Security Council. The Secretary-General's determination to push for a humanitarian ceasefire and UN humanitarian efforts in Gaza will continue," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Anadolu in a statement.

Robert Wood, the US representative for the United Nations, said the Biden administration used its veto rights because the ceasefire would allow Hamas to continue to control Gaza.

"As long as Hamas remains on its destruction ideology, any ceasefire is only temporary and certainly not peace. And a ceasefire that allows Hamas to continue to control Gaza will close opportunities for Palestinian civilians to build something better for themselves," Wood said.

"Therefore, although the US strongly supports eternal peace in which Israel and Palestine can live peacefully and safely, we do not support a resolution call for a ceasefire that will only be the seeds of the next war," he concluded.