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The Biden Administration is trying to seem like they’re working to bring an end to the fighting when, in fact, they are not.

by Stephen Zunes, The Progressive

On March 25, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2728 calling for a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza for the remaining two weeks of Ramadan, along with other provisions. It made headlines in large part because the United States did not veto it as it had previous ceasefire resolutions. The Biden Administration, however, had no intention for the resolution to actually take effect.

The United States was the only country in the fifteen-member United Nations body not to vote in favor, once again demonstrating its isolation in the international community. The Biden Administration had threatened to veto the original draft resolution calling for a permanent ceasefire, only agreeing to not cast a veto in return for dropping the word “permanent.”

united nations flags in front of the logo

The other changes the Biden Administration insisted on are revealing: While it “demands” that Hamas release Israeli hostages, the United States made sure that the resolution only “emphasizes the urgent need” to get desperately-needed aid to Palestinians, without mentioning that it is Israel that is preventing it.

The United States had initially pressed for the resolution to condemn Hamas while not condemning Israel, but it condemned neither. According to U.S. officials, the failure to single out Hamas for condemnation was the primary reason the United States did not vote in favor.

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Militarism and Foreign Policy