US vetoes UN resolution on Gaza despite humanitarian warnings

Leading UN agencies are issuing increasingly dramatic warnings about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. There have also been numerous expressions of international public dismay over the escalating crisis. But effective inter-governmental action to end the crisis was derailed on July 13, when the United States rejected a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding Israel end its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The US was the only country to vote against the draft resolution put forward by Qatar on behalf of Arab nations. Ten of the 15 Security Council nations voted in favor and four, Britain, Denmark, Slovakia and Peru, abstained. The draft resolution accused Israel of a "disproportionate use of force" that endangered Palestinian civilians, and demanded Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza. The draft had been changed before the vote over concerns that it was too biased against Israel. Calls for the release of the Israeli soldier abducted by Palestinian militants and an end to rocket attacks on Israel were added. But John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN, said the draft was still unacceptable because it had been overtaken by events in the region–including the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah on July 12–and was "unbalanced." "It placed demands on one side in the Middle East conflict but not the other," he said. "This draft resolution would have exacerbated tensions in the region." Prior to the vote, Bolton placed responsibility for the Gaza crisis squarely on Hamas. But external forces were to blame, too, he said, pointing the finger at Syria's and Iran's "harbouring and financing" of terrorism. Only as a seeming afterthought did he urge "close attention to the humanitarian needs of the population of Gaza." The resolution called on Israel and the Palestinians to "take immediate steps to create the necessary condition for the resumption of negotiation and restarting the peace process." It urged all parties to help alleviate the "dire humanitarian situation" faced by Palestinians. The draft also demanded the release of Palestinian officials arrested by Israel since the offensive began. The US had campaigned for other nations on the 15-member council to either vote against the resolution or abstain. The last veto at the Security Council, in October 2004, was cast when the US blocked a resolution condemning another Israeli operation in Gaza. Eight of the last nine vetoes have been cast by the United States. Seven of those were related to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Prior to the vote, various UN agencies issued an assessment of the situation in Gaza in order to encourage international involvement. "An already alarming situation, with poverty rates at nearly 80 percent and unemployment at nearly 40 percent, is likely to deteriorate rapidly unless immediate, urgent action is taken," the UN agencies said in a joint statement. The UN Relief and Works Agency said Gaza was "on the brink of a public health disaster" due to electricity and water shortages caused by Israeli military action. The World Food Program said that 70 percent of Palestinians in Gaza were to some degree dependent on food aid, a situation that has in any case been steadily worsening following the US and EU's decision to ostracize the Hamas-led government. Unicef said Palestinian children living in "an environment of extraordinary violence, insecurity and fear" were being harmed psychologically.