UN Security Council ‘remains paralyzed’ by US – Russia

America’s vetoes of Gaza ceasefire resolutions have left the global body dysfunctional, Moscow has said

The US has repeatedly abused its veto power on the UN Security Council, rendering the global body incapable of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. 

The statement came after the UN General Assembly adopted two resolutions on the war in Gaza, one of which called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas – and was similar to a document earlier blocked by the US at the Security Council. Unlike resolutions passed by the Security Council, those adopted by the General Assembly are legally non-binding.

The measure passed on Wednesday called for “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire,” as well “or the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” The second document confirmed “full support” for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), and “deplored” Israel’s legislation that banned the agency’s work in the West Bank and Gaza. 

In a statement on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the ceasefire resolution “largely repeated the content” of a draft that was vetoed by the US at the Security Council last month.

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“Once again, since the start of the unprecedented escalation of violence and bloodshed in the Arab-Israeli conflict, it is the UN General Assembly that is adopting the urgently needed resolutions,” the Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The call for a truce and access to humanitarian aid are “moral imperatives in the current catastrophic circumstances,” it added. 

“The UN Security Council – the main body tasked with maintaining international peace and security – remains paralyzed as a result of the use of the veto power by Washington (six times since the beginning of the current crisis),” the ministry wrote on its website.

The US and Israel have argued that an immediate cessation of hostilities would only benefit Hamas, and have accused the Palestinian armed group of sabotaging the negotiations. “It would be shameful and wrong if the General Assembly voted today to vindicate Hamas’ cynical strategy of stalling and obstruction,” US envoy to the UN, Robert Wood, said in a statement explaining Wednesday’s vote.

Israel has long accused UNRWA of covertly aiding Hamas and other militants.

"Despite the overwhelming evidence we submitted to the UN that substantiate Hamas’ infiltration of UNRWA, the UN did nothing to rectify the situation,” Israel’s envoy to the UN, Danny Danon, wrote on X last month.

UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini described Israel’s decision to block the operations of the agency as an “ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine refugees.”

Nearly 45,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s operation in Gaza, according to local authorities. The war broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas and allied groups carried out a surprise attack on Israeli cities, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, around 100 of whom are believed to be still held in Gaza.