The US vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution that sought to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and demand Israeli troops pull out of the territory.
US Ambassador John Bolton said the Arab-backed draft resolution rejected on Saturday was "biased against Israel and politically motivated."
"This resolution does not display an evenhanded characterization of the recent events in Gaza, nor does it advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace to which we aspire and for which we are working assiduously," he told the Security Council.
The veto unleashed a flurry of criticism from some countries in the Middle East.
"This decision by the US government gives unlimited cover to commit more massacres of innocent Palestinians," spokesman for the Hamas-led Palestinian government Ghazi Hamad said.
"This is a shame on the American administration, which says it is trying to promote human rights and democracy in the Middle East," he added.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, however, that the draft resolution was not acceptable because it contained "inflammatory and unnecessary language" and thus would have aggravated the situation in Gaza.
"We do not believe the resolution was designed to contribute to the cause of peace," she said in a statement.
The draft received 10 votes in favor and four abstentions, along with the US vote against. Britain, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia all abstained. The US is one of five permanent members of the council that have the power to veto resolutions.
It was the second US veto this year of a Security Council draft resolution concerning Israeli military operations in Gaza. The US blocked action on a document this summer after Israel launched its offensive in response to the capture of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-linked Palestinian militant forces.
Palestinians strengthened calls for Security Council action after an early morning Israeli artillery barrage in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun killed 19 people on Wednesday.
In an open session of the General Assembly on Thursday, Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour called the attack "state terrorism" and said the perpetrators should be held accountable under international law for war crimes.
Israel has expressed regret for the loss of life in Beit Hanoun but said it will continue operations to stop militants from launching rockets into Israel. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was scheduled to visit Washington yesterday to meet with US President George W. Bush.
Qatar's UN Ambassador Nassir Al-Nasser warned in the Security Council meeting that the failure of the body to act on the draft would lead to more Israeli violence against Palestinians.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the