US sees potential ceasefire as means to release captives, not as permanent truce
Chris Hedges, a political commentator and author, says the US vetoed the latest Security Council resolution on Gaza because it does not perceive a potential ceasefire as permanent but as one in which the captives leave Gaza.
“All of the hostages could have been freed on October 8 [2023],” Hedges told Al Jazeera. “Those hostages were taken to release the some 10,000 Palestinians who were held in Israeli prisons, many without due process.”
“You could make a pretty strong argument” that Israel killed most of the captives who have lost their lives in Gaza, Hedges said.
“That’s an Israeli decision,” he said.
Hamas says no captives released unless Gaza war ends
Hamas’s acting Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in an interview with Al-Aqsa TV that there would be no captives-for-prisoners swap deal with Israel unless Israel’s assault on the enclave ended.
Al-Hayya said there are “ongoing calls with mediating countries” regarding negotiations and said the group is ready to engage in talks.
He blamed PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for faltering talks, saying the Israeli prime minister has been stalling for “political reasons”.
US defends veto of UN Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire
The State Department has defended the US veto of a UN Security Council resolution on a Gaza ceasefire.
“The resolution does call for the release of hostages. What it doesn’t do is link the release of hostages to an immediate, unconditional ceasefire,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a news briefing.
Its fellow members, all of whom voted for the resolution, roundly criticised the US for blocking the measure put forward by the council’s 10 elected members. France’s ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere, said the resolution “very firmly” required the release of captives.
After blocking earlier resolutions on Gaza, Washington in March abstained from a vote that allowed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire to pass.
The US got the president it deserves, it couldn't get any worse for the ME anyway. At least any last bit of credibility of the US will be gone, what's left of it that is. What fucked up country continuously vetoes stopping a genocide. Biden, Harris, Blinken, Miller, your names will remain known for the first live streamed genocide and breakdown of international and humanitarian law installed after WW2 to prevent further atrocities.
