Palestinian presidency slams US veto of Gaza ceasefire resolution

By Aysar Alais and Mohammad Sio

RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL (AA) - The Palestinian presidency expressed its deep regret and disbelief over the veto by the US on Thursday of a UN Security Council draft resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“We express our regret and astonishment that the US administration once again blocked a ceasefire resolution, despite the agreement of all Security Council members on the draft,” presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.

He noted that 14 council members voted in favor of the resolution, which he said “explicitly called for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people.”

Abu Rudeineh said the US veto “encourages the Israeli occupation to continue its crimes against the Palestinian people and to defy all international legitimacy and international law.”

He called on Washington to “review its decision in order to preserve international law.”

The draft resolution expressed “grave concern at Israel's ongoing expansion of its military operation in Gaza and the deepening of the suffering of civilians as a result.”

Calling on Israeli authorities to immediately reverse their decision to further their military operation in Gaza, it also rejected “any attempt at demographic or territorial change” in the enclave.

Denmark proposed the draft resolution on behalf of the Security Council's 10 elected members -- Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia -- and received 14 votes.

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 65,100 Palestinians since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

On Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory confirmed that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza.