The United States has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for “international protection” for the Palestinian people.
The resolution, which was brought forth by Kuwait, a non-permanent member of the council, asks Secretary-General António Guterres for a report within 60 days on ways to ensure “the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation,” including recommendations about “an international protection mechanism,” the Associated Press reported.
China, France and Russia were among the countries that supported the resolution, with four countries—the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, the Netherlands and Poland—abstaining.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called the Kuwaiti resolution “grossly one-sided” for not mentioning the Palestinian terror group Hamas and was “wildly inaccurate in its characterization of recent events in Gaza” by condemning Israel for the violence.
After the U.S. veto, the Security Council then voted down a U.S.-written resolution condemning Hamas over the recent escalation of violence in Gaza. The American resolution demanded that Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups “all violent activity and provocative actions” in Gaza.
The two resolutions on Friday came amid ongoing tensions in the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, more than 60 Palestinians were killed in clashes along the Israeli-Gaza border, while this week Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired several dozen rockets at Israel, prompting an Israeli retaliation.
On Friday, a few thousand Palestinian rioted along the Gaza border, “burning tires adjacent to the security fence and attempting to damage security infrastructure,” said the Israel Defense Forces. A Palestinian woman belonging to the Hamas-run health ministry was also reportedly killed in clashes.
The IDF said that an army vehicle had come under fire along the border, and that a Palestinian had breach the border fence in northern Gaza and planted a grenade that exploded.
