China and Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Friday morning, saying the text didn’t go far enough in calling for a ceasefire in the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Washington’s resolution, which underwent six drafts, states that an immediate, sustained ceasefire is “imperative” and “towards that end, unequivocally supports ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”

Eleven council members supported it. Guyana abstained, and China, Russia and Algeria voted against it. (As permanent members, China and Russia have veto power, while Algeria, as a non-permanent member, does not.)

“The American resolution—should it have passed—would have marked a moment of morality for the U.N., a place where good is evil, and justice is injustice,” Gilad Erdan, the Israeli ambassador to the global body, stated after the vote. “It would have been the very first  time that this council—or any U.N. body—condemned Hamas and their brutal massacre.”

“Sadly, for purely political reasons, this resolution did not pass, and terrorists can continue benefiting from this council whitewashing their crimes,” he added.

“The United Nations was established in the wake of the Holocaust to prevent such atrocities from happening again. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, thank you for defending these values,” Erdan added. “Your determination to condemn the Hamas monsters and your conviction that the release of the hostages is not something that can be postponed shows true moral clarity.”

“The council’s decision to not condemn Hamas is a stain that will never be forgotten,” Erdan said.

‘Read into it’

The draft resolution’s language was the strongest Washington has used so far about a ceasefire. 

The text was crafted so that all council members should be able to “read into it what they need to” in order to support it, Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters on Thursday.

Beijing and Moscow still saw enough that made it unpalatable to them.

Image - Reuters