Arab League, OIC, and Egypt condemn US veto of Gaza ceasefire

The Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Egypt have censured the third veto by the United States of a draft resolution proposed at the United Nations Security Council demanding an immediate end to Israel’s brutal war in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The US used its veto power at the UNSC on Tuesday to block the Algeria-drafted resolution, which rejected the “forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population” and urged “all parties to comply with international law.”

Representatives of 13 countries at the 15-member Security Council voted in favor. Britain abstained.

Washington vetoed similar draft resolutions in October and December.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, said vetoing a resolution “calling for a ceasefire in an armed conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 29,000 civilians, most of them children and women, is a shameful precedent” in the history of the Security Council.

The ministry said the international community has a moral and human obligation to work for an end to the daily suffering of the Palestinians.

“Egypt strongly denounces … selectivity and double standards in dealing with wars and armed conflicts in various regions of the world, which has come to question the credibility of the rules and working mechanisms of the current international architecture, especially the UN Security Council, which is entrusted with the responsibility of preventing and settling conflicts and halting wars,” the statement read.

The ministry said Cairo would continue to demand a safe passage for humanitarian aid in the tightly-blockaded territory. It also said Egypt would be against any attempts aimed at displacing the Palestinians outside their homeland.

Separately, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement that the veto “clearly indicates its political and moral responsibility for the continuation of the war.”

He also warned that the veto “undermines the credibility of the UN system and reinforces the state of paralysis witnessed by the UN.”

“(It) provides political cover for Israel to continue the aggression in light of the international community’s inability to stop the heinous crimes committed every day against Palestinian civilians,” Aboul Gheit said.

The veto also drew condemnation by the OIC, which expressed its “deep regret” over the failure of the UNSC to adopt the draft resolution.

“The OIC also regrets deeply the United States’ use of veto against the draft resolution, describing it as a negative reflection of the Security Council’s role in the maintenance of international peace and security, protection of civilians and ensuring delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.

Condemnations have poured in from across the world. Countries such as China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and even Washington’s close allies, including France and Slovenia, have denounced the veto.

Washington has supplied the Israeli regime with more than 10,000 tons of military equipment over the past months of hostilities in Gaza.

SS