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As Israeli Forces Fire on Starving Palestinians, US Again Vetoes UN Cease-Fire Resolution

“We should ask ourselves: How many innocent lives must be sacrificed before the council deems it necessary to call for a cease-fire?” said the Algerian envoy to the United Nations.

Common Dreams JULIA CONLEY, Feb 20, 2024

As a United Nations agency halted aid deliveries in northern Gaza, where acute malnourishment is rampant among children, citing a “breakdown of social order” fueled by Israel’s bombardment of and blockade on the enclave, the United States for a third time on Tuesday vetoed a cease-fire resolution at the U.N. Security Council—saying it was an inopportune time to demand that Israel end its massacre of Palestinians.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the cease-fire resolution, proposed by Algeria, would “negatively impact” negotiations for a truce that are ongoing.

Amar Bendjama, Algeria’s ambassador to the U.N., said the U.S. ambassador’s lone vote against the resolution “implies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon” Palestinians in Gaza.

Thirteen countries supported the resolution, while the U.K.—which has veto power, like the U.S., China, France, and Russia—abstained from voting.

The vote marked the third time the U.S. has vetoed a cease-fire resolution at the U.N. Security Council (UNSC). Meanwhile, the Biden administration has approved weapons transfers to Israel without the oversight of the U.S. Congress since the assault began in October, and has vehemently defended the bombardment as being focused on defeating Hamas, even as Israel has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians including more than 11,500 children.

“We should ask ourselves: How many innocent lives must be sacrificed before the council deems it necessary to call for a cease-fire?” said Bendjama. “Palestinian lives matter. Each one of us decides where to stand in this tragic chapter of history.”

As the U.S. rejected the cease-fire resolution, Al Jazeera reported on the chaos that has erupted in northern Gaza as Israel has blocked aid trucks from reaching starving civilians there.

The World Food Program (WFP) said Tuesday it was pausing deliveries after crowds of desperate people overwhelmed aid workers.

As Al Jazeera reported, children collected flour that spilled from an aid truck in Gaza City, before Israeli forces began firing on the crowd……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Al Jazeera reported that Palestinians in Gaza expressed anger over the United States’ latest veto.

“There is a great deal of pessimism and frustration. Palestinians no longer trust the international community, as we have been hearing from locals here in Gaza,” correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah. “During the Security Council meeting there have been more attacks on the ground here in Gaza. People here are completely frustrated.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-vetoes-ceasefire

February 22, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | weapons and war