Russia in UNSC: US has given Israel carte blanche to ignore ceasefire resolution
The US said that its abstention in the vote for Monday's resolution was due to the resolution's failure to condemn Hamas.
Citing statements by US and Israeli officials that they will continue operations in Gaza, Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya asked on Tuesday if the US considers itself bound to the UN charter, saying it has given Israel carte blanche to ignore Monday's ceasefire resolution.
"With the blessing of the US, Israel now, despite a direct demand from the Security Council, has complete carte blanche and is not planning to stop till it razes Gaza to the ground," said Nebenzya at the UNSC meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.
"If the US no longer considers itself bound by the charter and is encouraging Israel to act the same, there is "no point to our discussions [in the Security Council]," he said.
China levied similar criticism against the US, saying that council resolutions are binding "beyond any doubt or challenge." China also urged Israel to cease military operations and "collective punishment" in Gaza.
Russia also expressed its support for UNRWA and its concern about an "absence of concrete information" on Israeli accusations that UNRWA staff participated in Hamas terrorism.
Russia also said it was concerned about reports of torture of UNWRA staff during questioning by Israeli forces.
US: No excuse for UNSC's failure to condemn Hamas
The US reiterated at the meeting that its abstention in the vote for Monday's resolution was due to the resolution's failure to condemn Hamas and other missing critical language. The US has been consistent in its support of a ceasefire, according to the US representative.
There is "no excuse for the Security Council's failure to condemn Hamas' terrorism. This council needs to condemn Hamas," he said.
The US criticized Russia and China's choice to "cynically obstruct" a previous US resolution, which included language condemning Hamas.
The council should be "pressing Hamas to agree" to the hostage deal that is on the table, said the US rep, touching on the hostage deal the US is helping facilitate through talks in Qatar.
The US also touched on humanitarian aid, saying that "not enough assistance is reaching [Palestinian] civilians in need. The reality is that children are starving to death in Gaza because humanitarian assistance can't reach them. Children should not be dying of malnutrition in Gaza or anywhere else for that matter."
Reiterating US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the rep said that "Gaza cannot be used as a platform for terrorism, there can be no displacement of its population, there can be no reduction in its territory or reoccupation by Israel."
The US also called to revitalize the Palestinian Authority" with better, more representative government, including Palestinians from Gaza."
The meeting opened with a briefing by United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, who said, "In Gaza, the humanitarian impact of the hostilities has been cataclysmic and is worsening daily."
Wennesland also touched on hunger in Gaza, saying that one million in Gaza are projected to face catastrophic levels of food insecurity by the end of May and that famine in the north of Gaza is imminent.
He also laid out a report of Palestinian casualties in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as Israeli casualties.
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