Washington Vetoes UN Gaza Ceasefire Resolution 1/14
By Palestine Chronicle Staff - June 5, 2025 News
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, blocking its adoption despite support from all other members.
The United States vetoed on Wednesday a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, preventing its adoption despite support from all other members.
14 of the 15 Council members voted in favor of the draft, with the US casting the sole opposing vote.
Dorothy Shea, the interim US representative at the UN, defended the veto during her remarks to the Council, claiming that the resolution failed to condemn Hamas or demand its disarmament and withdrawal from Gaza.
“Any product that undermines our close ally Israel’s security is a nonstarter,” Shea said, explaining the veto.
Shea emphasized Washington’s continued efforts to secure the release of detainees held by Hamas, including four American citizens.
She also claimed that Hamas had rejected previous ceasefire efforts, and that the Security Council should not, in her words, “embolden” the group while it continues to threaten Israel.
“The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” she said.
She also criticized the United Nations for not including Hamas on its list of terrorist organizations.
The British representative, in contrast, backed the resolution, citing the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Slovenia’s envoy echoed the call for an immediate end to the war and urged the unconditional release of detainees.
According to Reuters news agency, the US had already informed Israel of its intention to veto the resolution.
The vote marked the first Security Council attempt to pass a Gaza-related resolution since November 2024, when the US also blocked a ceasefire proposal under President Joe Biden’s administration.
The most recent adopted resolution came in June 2024, when the Council endorsed a US-backed multi-phase ceasefire plan tied to the release of Israeli captives. That agreement was not implemented until January 2025 and was later violated by Israel.
The blocked resolution called for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” and the release of captives without preconditions. It also highlighted Gaza’s “catastrophic humanitarian situation” and urged the immediate lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid, ensuring its safe and widespread distribution by organizations, including the United Nations.
Resolutions at the Security Council require at least nine votes in favor and no veto from the five permanent members—the US, UK, France, Russia, and China.
In a statement immediately after the vote, the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas said that the American veto reflects “Washington’s blind bias towards the occupation government,” accusing the US of continuing to support Israeli “crimes against humanity in Gaza.”
(PC, AJA, Reuters)
