Photo courtesy of Susan Melkisethian via Flickr.
By Kiera McLaughlin ’26
Global Editor
In recent weeks, the United States has faced criticism both from the international community and from U.S. citizens for its stance on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. On Feb. 20, 2024, the United States vetoed the Algerian draft proposal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire at the U.N. Security Council vote, NPR reported.
This draft proposal had 13 votes in favor of the presented resolution, with the United Kingdom abstaining and the United States vetoing, according to NPR. This is the third U.S. veto of a proposed resolution to the Security Council. In addition to calling for a ceasefire, this Algerian proposal demanded an immediate release of hostages, an end to the forced displacement of Palestinians and that humanitarian aid be sent to all of Gaza, AP News reported.
Before the vote, Amar Bendjama, Algeria’s U.N. ambassador, said that, “A vote in favor of this draft resolution is a support to the Palestinians’ right to life. Conversely, voting against it implies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted against them,” AP News reported.
On Saturday, Feb. 17, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield had already signaled that the U.S. would veto the draft due to the risk of it jeopardizing current talks between the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, according to Reuters. This discussion is an attempt to negotiate a pause in the war to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Thomas-Greenfield said that if these protected discussions are successful, “we can take the time to build a more enduring peace,” AP News reported.
U.N. Ambassadors have come out against the United States’ actions in vetoing the humanitarian ceasefire. Some of the council members visited Rafah and found that only a ceasefire could end the “unbearable killings” in Gaza and the “looming and unthinkable catastrophe” in Rafah, according to the official U.N. website.
China has come out against the United States’ veto of an immediate ceasefire after the vote. Zhang Jun, China’s U.N. ambassador, said that “given the situation on the ground, the continued passive avoidance of an immediate ceasefire is nothing different from giving a green light to the continued slaughter,” BBC News reported.
In the face of the veto, the United States presented its own proposal calling for a “temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable,” CNN reported. This draft does not meet the expectations of other members of the Security Council, who are publicly in support of an immediate ceasefire, according to CNN.
This U.S.-proposed resolution also opposes a major ground offensive in Rafah by Israel, Reuters reported. The draft mirrors what has been discussed between President Biden and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. According to CNN, the U.S. resolution says that the effects of Israeli military action in Rafah would “result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement, including potentially into neighboring countries, which would have serious implications for regional peace and security.”
This is the first time that the United States has proposed a draft calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, according to CBS News. The hope of it passing is dim, as, last year, Russia and China vetoed a U.S. draft resolution in relation to the Israel-Hamas War, NPR reported.
When asked about the possibility of the U.S. draft passing in the Security Council, in an interview with Mount Holyoke News, Amherst College European Studies and Politics Professor Pavel Machala said: “It’s highly doubtful that any temporary ceasefire proposal would pass now or ever; China and Russia would veto it.”
Professor Machala clarified that if there was strong pressure from the international community, like “close U.S. European allies … and if much extensive pressure from the U.S. public and U.S. Congress develops, Biden’s acceptance [of a] permanent ceasefire may happen.”
There has been robust backlash against Biden’s unwillingness to support a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza from citizens in the United States. According to Data for Progress, 35% of all likely voters strongly supported the United States calling for a permanent ceasefire in November 2023.
With the Michigan presidential primaries that occurred on Feb. 27, grassroots organizations have been working to get voters to “Abandon Biden,” The Hill reported. This “Abandon Biden” campaign has declared the United States as “an active participant in the aggression against the Palestinian people” and called Biden out for ignoring U.S. protesters and voters.
Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese said, before the Michigan election took place, that “Biden’s blockade of the ceasefire resolution will only intensify the outrage and galvanize pro-peace voices to vote ‘uncommitted’ to make their voices heard.”
On that Tuesday, Michigan Democrats made their voices heard, with Biden winning 81% of the vote, while 13% of voters, more than 100,000 people, cast their vote as “uncommitted,” according to Reuters.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have not commented on the strong stance from the Arab American community in Michigan. However, after the election, a Biden campaign official stated, “This doesn’t mean we will ignore the Arab American and Muslim American population. We will not. We are not taking anyone for granted,” Reuters reported.
While U.S. citizens will continue to make their opinions known in the polls, the future decisions of the Security Council and U.N. are unknown. The United States made it clear on the U.N. floor that it plans to give time for negotiations and does not want to rush the vote, Reuters reported.
There were private discussions around the U.S. proposal on Feb. 20, according to CNN. Once the draft is put to a vote, it will need more than nine votes in favor and zero vetoes from the permanent members of the Security Council, including Russia and China, in order to pass.
However, the Algerian proposal will not necessarily be disposed of. The resolution can be presented to the U.N. General Assembly, which is made up of 193 member nations, where it will most likely be approved, according to AP News. However, if approved by the assembly, the resolution will not be legally binding like it would have been if it were approved by the Security Council.