The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Wednesday denounced the United States for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement quoted by the Xinhua news agency that the United States used its veto for the fourth time, encouraging Israel to persist in its "crimes" against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples while defying international law and legitimacy.
The statement stressed that the PA’s demands to the UN Security Council and the international community were clear: to halt the "aggression," enforce a ceasefire, and address the "crimes" Israel has committed against the Palestinian Arab people.
The statement urged the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to take responsibility for the Palestinian people by acting immediately to end the ongoing "aggression," the humanitarian crisis, and the hunger affecting Gaza.
Hamas said in a statement quoted by Xinhua that by using the veto, the United States proves it is a "direct partner in the aggression," responsible for "killing children and women, destroying civilian life in Gaza."
The statement called on the United States to stop this "reckless hostile policy" if it truly seeks to end wars and achieve security and stability in the region, as claimed by the elected administration.
The resolution which was voted upon called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” to end the war in Gaza, irrespective of the fate of the hostages who remain in custody or whether such a ceasefire would allow Hamas to remain in power and recover from its losses to attack Israel again.
It separately called for the release of the hostages, but did not connect the issues of the hostages and the ceasefire.
14 countries voted in favor of the Algerian delegation's resolution, but the US veto defeated it.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said later on Wednesday that the US chose to veto the resolution because it failed to link between a ceasefire and a hostage release.
“The resolution does call for the release of hostages. What it doesn’t do is link the release of hostages to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire. And we have made clear throughout this process that we cannot support a resolution that calls for an unconditional, immediate ceasefire and delinks it from the release of hostages. There are still seven American citizens who are being held hostage in Gaza, and we are not going to walk away from them,” Miller said at a State Department press briefing, in response to a question from a reporter.
“It seems to us plain common sense that if there’s going to be a ceasefire, that Hamas shouldn’t get to continue to hold the hostages. And so we want to see the two linked, and that will continue to be our position. We will continue to look for ways to find consensus with other countries on the UN Security Council. But because of that language, it’s not – this resolution is not something we can support,” stated Miller.