Palestinian officials slam US for holding back immediate ceasefire resolution at UN

The US vetoed a United Nations resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza on December 8, despite a dramatic warning from Secretary-General António Guterres that civil order was breaking down and the risk of a mass exodus into Egypt growing.

As reported by the Guardian, the UN vote in the 15-member council concluded with 13-1, with the UK abstaining and the US using their veto right.

The US deputy ambassador, Richard Mills, said the US would not give up on its aim of removing Hamas from power, explaining America wanted “to break the cycle of unceasing violence so that history does not keep repeating itself”. He said a ceasefire now “would only plant the seeds for the next war because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace. Our goal should not be to stop the war for today but to stop the war forever”.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, accused Israel of not aiming for security, but to end forever any prospect of Palestinian independence and self-respect.

He accused America of being taken for a ride by Israel’s promise to behave with restraint, saying, “You can keep calling on Israel to protect civilians, to uphold the laws of war, to allow humanitarian aid in. It will keep toying with you, fooling you, forcing you to discuss the number of trucks while people still cannot get food, water, or medicine. It will keep telling you if people only heeded its calls to head south they would have been saved while bombing them in the south".

The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations hailed the decision, saying that the only way a ceasefire would be achieved is if all the hostages were returned into Israeli territory and if Hamas as a militant and governmental structure was defeated.