The US decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for a truce between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas is hypocritical, Zhang Jun, China\u2019s ambassador to the organization, has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, the US was the only country to vote against a resolution sponsored by the United Arab Emirates and endorsed by more than 90 other nations, which called for an \u201cimmediate humanitarian ceasefire\u201d and the \u201cimmediate and unconditional release of hostages\u201d captured by Hamas; 13 UN Security Council members supported the document, with the UK abstaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Explaining the veto, Robert Wood, Washington\u2019s deputy UN ambassador, called the document \u201cdivorced from reality.\u201d He added that contrary to the US\u2019 advice, it failed to condemn the Hamas \u201cterrorist attack\u201d of October 7, saying that an unconditional ceasefire would allow the group to simply repeat the assault at a later date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also claimed that the document failed to \u201cencourage a resumption of humanitarian pauses,\u201d stressing that \u201cevery innocent Palestinian life lost is a tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commenting on the vote, Zhang expressed \u201cgreat disappointment and regret\u201d that the US stonewalled the resolution, arguing that the justification for the move was \u201cfeeble.\u201d He noted that \u201ccondoning the continuation of fighting while claiming to care about the lives and safety of the people in Gaza and the humanitarian needs there is self-contradictory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Condoning the continuation of fighting while making every mention of the protection of women and girls and human rights is extremely hypocritical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the start of the conflict, the US has blocked several UN resolutions sponsored by various countries calling for a ceasefire. In mid-November, the UN Security Council adopted a document calling for \u201chumanitarian pauses\u201d in hostilities. It was supported by 12 votes, with Russia, the US, and UK abstaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, and the ensuing fighting has left more than 1,200 Israelis and 17,000 Palestinians dead. In late November, the belligerents reached a temporary Qatari-mediated ceasefire, with Hamas agreeing to release dozens of Israeli hostages in exchange for West Jerusalem freeing many Palestinians from prisons. Last week, however, the fragile agreement collapsed, with both sides accusing each another of violating the truce.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n