UPDATE - US vetoes UN resolution on Palestinians

UPDATES WITH US PROPOSAL CONDEMNING HAMAS, ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

By Betul Yuruk

NEW YORK (AA) – The U.S. on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on the protection of Palestinians.

Ten countries voted in favor, while the UK, Poland, the Netherlands and Ethiopia abstained.

The draft resolution, submitted by Kuwait on May 18, condemned Israeli violence and called for the "protection of the Palestinian people" in Gaza and the West Bank.

The resolution, which was revised three times and was said to have been “watered down”, previously called for international protection for Palestinian people.

The final draft called for “the consideration of measures to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in the Gaza Strip”.

Speaking ahead of the voting, Nikki Haley, the U.S.'s UN ambassador, said the resolution Kuwait submitted to the Security Council was unilateral and did not mention Hamas.

Later, the Security Council rejected a U.S. proposal calling for condemnation of Hamas for violence in Gaza.

The U.S. resolution was opposed by Russia, Kuwait and Bolivia while 11 countries abstained from voting.

The U.S. resolution called for condemnation in the strongest terms of the May 29 rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel which harmed its civilian infrastructure.

Since March 30, at least 118 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred and thousands more injured by Israeli army gunfire near the Gaza-Israel security fence.