US Threatens to Block Security Council Vote on Gaza

United Nations. The UN Security Council may vote next week on Algeria’s resolution demanding an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza, diplomatic sources said on Saturday. However, it seems that Washington is ready to block the proposal again.

At the end of January, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel must make every effort to stop the genocide in its war on Gaza, and Algeria has begun scrambling for a new draft. In the verdict, the court said that Israel is targeting Hamas militants.
In the latest version of the draft resolution obtained by AFP on Saturday, it is mentioned that “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire is demanded and it must be respected by all parties”. “It also rejects the forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population and demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” the resolution said.
In the Gaza war that started with Hamas on October 7, about 1,160 civilians, including mostly civilians, lost their lives in Israel. According to the Ministry of Health run by Hamas, at least 28,858 people, including mostly women and children, were killed in Israel’s retaliatory attack on Gaza.
Algeria has requested a vote in the UN Security Council on Tuesday, but Washington has indicated that it may use privileges in the vote. US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in a statement about Algeria’s proposed draft, ‘US President Joe Biden is working on a hostage agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, which will bring about a six-week ceasefire to the war.’
“Contrary to this, the resolution placed in the Security Council will not achieve these results and may actually be contrary to the ceasefire,” he said.
Like previous draft resolutions opposed by Israel and the US, the new draft resolution does not condemn the unprecedented attack by Hamas. At the beginning of this month, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said that there is a danger of jeopardizing the negotiations with Algeria’s latest initiative.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, recently said, “We believe that now is the time for the Security Council to decide on a humanitarian ceasefire proposal. There is ‘great support’ for elements of the draft resolution among Security Council members.”
In October and December, despite international pressure over the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Washington privileged messages calling for a ceasefire. The Security Council has adopted only two resolutions on Gaza since October 7. It also includes calls for large-scale humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories.