US Abstains as UN Security Council Demands 'Immediate Cease-Fire' in Gaza

The U.S. on Monday declined to veto but still abstained from a United Nations Security Council on Monday to adopt a resolution demanding an "immediate cease-fire for the month of Ramadan" in the embattled Gaza Strip, a move that came amid an ongoing Israeli genocide in which more than 114,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded and hundreds of thousands of others are starving.

The Security Council voted 14-0, with the U.S. abstaining, to approve a resolution for the cessation of hostilities during the Muslim holy month after member states overcame a sticking point over the removal of the word "permanent" from an earlier draft version. Instead, the resolution calls for an "immediate" cease-fire.

"Humanity prevails. Humanity always prevails," Palestine's U.N. mission said on social media following the vote. "Today's historic vote by the Security Council for a #ceasefire and an end to Israel's crimes is a first step towards justice. The resolution is binding."

The U.S. had vetoed three of the previous four cease-fire resolutions.

"This resolution must be implemented," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said following Monday's vote. "Failure would be unforgivable."

As the U.N. Newsexplained:

The resolution is a bare-bones call for a cease-fire during the month of Ramadan, which began on March 11. It also demands the return of about 130 hostages seized in Israel and held in Gaza and emphasizes the urgent need to allow ample lifesaving aid to reach a starving population in the besieged enclave.

The demand to end hostilities has so far eluded the council following the Israeli forces' invasion of Gaza in October after Hamas attacks left almost 1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage.

Since then, Israel's daily bombardment alongside its near-total blockade of water, electricity, and lifesaving aid has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the health ministry there, where a recent U.N.-backed report showed an imminent famine unfolding.

Palestinians—especially children—are starving to death in Gaza. Hospitals are under attack, with Israeli forces reportedly executing large numbers of people inside al-Shifa Hospital.

Meanwhile, the approximately 1.5 million Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah—most of them refugees forcibly displaced from other parts of Gaza—are bracing for an anticipated ground invasion, which Israeli leaders say will proceed despite a warning from U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris that such an operation would have "consequences."

Monday's vote followed intense negotiations over the measure introduced by 10 non-permanent Security Council members—Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Korea, and Switzerland.

According to Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, the vote on the resolution was delayed 20 minutes as the United States "pushed to include condemnation of Hamas in the text."

"This is despite the fact that the U.S. has VETOED previous resolutions that clearly condemned Hamas," Parsi wrote on social media.

Parsi said:

America's abstention in today's U.N. vote marks a real shift by [President Joe] Biden—this is the first time we've seen his administration's rhetorical shift in favor of a cease-fire translate into political action.

There's no question that all of the domestic pressure on the Biden administration to stop blocking a cease-fire is having an impact. The pressure is working—without it, Biden likely would've vetoed today' resolution. Yet, while Biden is no longer standing in the way of a cease-fire, this is hardly the same thing as helping to bring about a cease-fire. America must do much more to bring an end to this war.

Politically, today's vote will certainly increase pressure on Washington to help implement an immediate cease-fire. Will the Biden administration continue to sell Israel arms, even if Israel refuses the UNSC's call for a cease-fire?

The United States—which, despite growing frustration over genocidal atrocities, still arms Israel—brushed off a threat from far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a planned visit to Washigton by a high-level Israeli delegation if the U.S. did not veto the resolution.

The Associated Press reported Netanyahu followed through with his threat and canceled the trip.

Human rights defenders welcomed Monday's vote.

"Israel needs to immediately respond to the U.N. Security Council resolution adopted today by facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, ending its starvation of Gaza's population, and halting unlawful attacks," Louis Charbonneau, director of Human Rights Watch's U.N. program, said in a statement.

"Palestinian armed groups should immediately release all civilians held hostage," he added. "The U.S. and other countries should use their leverage to end atrocities by suspending arms transfers to Israel."

In the United States, progressive lawmakers also welcomed the resolution's adoption.

"The U.N. Security Council just passed a resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, the release of all hostages, and full humanitarian access," said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—who has been criticized by the left for his earlier failure to call for a cease-fire. "The U.S. must push all parties to honor this cease-fire and rush massive humanitarian aid into Gaza to feed starving people."

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) praised the Biden administration's "significant change" in policy after three previous vetoes.

"Grassroots activism is making the difference," he added. "Moral positions that just a few weeks ago were described as fringe are starting to be vindicated."

Meanwhile, the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said it was "disappointed" by the Biden administration's veto, which the group said "fails to acknowledge that Hamas is to blame for ongoing hostilities and could stop the fighting by surrendering and releasing all the hostages."

In response, Jewish Voice for Peace Action asserted: "AIPAC will not accept anything less than complete and unquestioning amplification of Israeli military's talking points. They are fueling every part of this genocide."