Palestine: US 'Responsible for Bloodshed' After UN Veto

Facts

• Palestinian Authority Pres. Mahmoud Abbas has said that the US decision to veto Friday's UN Security Council resolution calling for a truce in Gaza has made Washington complicit in alleged "war crimes" against Palestinians. ¹
• According to a statement released on Saturday by the president's office, Abbas described America's decision "as aggressive and immoral" and held it "responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and elderly people in the Gaza Strip." ²
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres had invoked the UN Charter's Article 99 for the first time to convene an emergency Security Council meeting to demand an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, claiming "there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza." ³
• However, 13 members voted in favor of a brief draft resolution, the UK abstained, and the US vetoed it, arguing the resolution declined to condemn Hamas' Oct. 7 attack as well as ignored Washington's diplomatic efforts to allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and release Israeli hostages. ⁴
• Abbas' comments and failed UN resolution come as Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip in the past two months — after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1.2K people and seizing 240 hostages — have reportedly killed more than 17K, injured 46K, and displaced about 1.9M. ⁵

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Times of Israel, ³Associated Press, ⁴NPR Online News, and ⁵Arab News.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. The US veto of the Gaza ceasefire resolution is a vote against humanity. Washington's arrogance and failure to halt the war that has killed more than 17K Palestinians and over 1K Israelis displays a callous disregard for civilian suffering. The US veto, which stands in sharp contrast to the values it professes to uphold, makes it complicit in the massacre in Gaza.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Hill. It's not the US veto but the UN's ceasefire resolution that's disconnected from reality. As a ceasefire in Gaza is akin to planting the seeds for the next war in the volatile region, dismissing the rights of the hostages, and accepting Hamas' hegemony in the Palestinian Authority, it's not a solution to lasting peace. The war will continue until Hamas stops threatening Israel.
• Nerd narrative, as provided by Metaculus. There's a 5% chance that the International Criminal Court bring charges against Benjamin Netanyahu before 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.