According to the information received about the reasons for the United States not using the veto, one word was modified in the text of the draft resolution, which was approved by 14 countries, with one country abstaining from voting, namely the United States.
According to the information, the sponsors of the resolution sought to include the phrase “Sustainable ceasefire“or permanent sustainable ceasefire, in the draft resolution, which the United States rejected, and its inclusion in the resolution almost led to its veto.
For this reason, in the final text, that phrase was replaced by another, which is “Permanent, not absolute“The word ‘lasting’ was replaced by ‘permanent,’ according to the Russia Today news website.
This change of word led to the United States abstaining from using the veto, and merely abstaining from voting on the draft resolution, which angered Israel, even though the American representative to the Security Council, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, considered it “non-binding on Israel,” while John Kirby, head of the National Security Council in the White House, considered it “not binding on Israel.” In a press conference, it was a “non-binding decision” that would therefore have “no impact whatsoever on Israel’s ability to continue pursuing Hamas.”
According to Russia Today, the Russian Deputy Representative to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, expressed his surprise at the United States’ statements, which considered the UN Security Council resolution on Gaza “non-binding.”
It is noteworthy that the United States objected to 4 previous ceasefire attempts in Gaza, and used its veto against all of them.
