A US resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza linked to a hostage deal has been vetoed by Russia and China in the UN security council, extending a five-month impasse in the international body over the Israel-Hamas war which has killed more than 32,000 people.
Eleven council members voted for the resolution on Friday morning; Russia, China and Algeria voted against it and Guyana abstained. As permanent security council members the Russian and Chinese votes counted as vetoes.
It was unclear on Friday morning whether there would be a further vote on an alternative resolution demanding an immediate and unconditional ceasefire drafted by other council members. The US has warned it would veto such a resolution, suggesting the deadlock in the body, tasked with safeguarding international peace and security, would continue.
At the same time, in Israel, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, shrugged off US objections and insisted Israeli forces would press ahead with a new offensive against the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah, which has been the last refuge for more than a million displaced Palestinians. Netanyahu said Israel “will do it alone” if necessary.
Before the vote, the Russian envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, pointed out that the US had used its veto four times on Gaza (against three ceasefire resolutions and one Russian amendment) since the war started on 7 October, and noted that the US resolution did not directly demand a ceasefire but rather “determines the imperative” of a ceasefire.
“To save the lives of the peaceful Palestinian civilians, this is not enough,” Nebenzya said. He added that any council member voting for the resolution “will cover yourselves in disgrace”.
After the vote, the US envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Russia and China had opposed the resolution because they could not bring themselves to support the clauses in it condemning Hamas.
“The second reason behind this veto is not just cynical, it’s also petty,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States because they would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed.”
Another resolution has been drafted by elected members of the council with a direct demand for a ceasefire, but Thomas-Greenfield warned that the US would veto that text if it was presented for a vote, on the grounds that it did not support negotiations under way in Doha on a deal which would establish a ceasefire in return for Hamas freeing its hostages.
“Worse is that it could actually give Hamas an excuse to walk away from the deal on the table,” she said. “All of us want to see this council speak out, but we should not move forward with any resolution that jeopardises the ongoing negotiations.”
The alternative resolution was reported to be on hold on Friday morning, while council members held consultations.
Sherine Tadros, the head of the New York office of Amnesty International described the US resolution as “an attempt by the US to absolve themselves of the abysmal record Biden has had so far on Gaza, and submit a resolution that is not going to end the war”.
“This moment requires unequivocal action by the security council, whose mandate is to maintain international peace and security, calling for an immediate ceasefire,” Tadros. “It shouldn’t really be so hard for them to do that.”
The US gave the same reason for its veto of an Algerian ceasefire resolution over a month ago, but the hostage talks in Doha remain deadlocked. The CIA and Mossad directors, William Burns and David Barnea, were in Qatar on Friday for weekend negotiations with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, and Mohammed bin Hamad al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar.
Explaining his country’s vote against the US resolution, the Algerian ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, pointed to the absence of a direct demand for an immediate ceasefire.
“The text presented today does not convey a clear message of peace,” Bendjama told the council. “It is a laissez passer to continue killing the Palestinian civilians.”
On a particularly bad day for US diplomacy, Netanyahu issued a video statement to reporters during a visit by the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, defying repeated US appeals not to go ahead with plans for an offensive on Rafah, on the grounds it would cause further mass civilian casualties.
The Israeli prime minister said he recognised the need to evacuate the civilian population from combat zones and “see to the humanitarian needs”.
But he added: “We have no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remnant of the battalions there. I told him that I hope we would do this with US support but if necessary – we will do it alone.”
On leaving Israel after his one-day visit, Blinken said he had “candid conversations” with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, and restated US objections to a Rafah offensive.
“It risks wreaking greater havoc with the humanitarian assistance. It risks further isolating Israel around the world and jeopardising its long-term security and standing,” the top US diplomat told reporters.
Analysts in Israel say it is unclear if Netanyahu is genuinely committed to launching a military assault into Rafah despite US opposition, using the threat to add pressure on Hamas in the hostage talks, or is playing to his political base in Israel with the intention of blaming Washington if the Rafah assault is called off, and Netanyahu fails to achieve the declared war aim of “crushing” Hamas.
