The Biden administration is reportedly blocking the release of a United Nations Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire as Israel continues its devastating assault on the occupied Gaza Strip, killing dozens of Palestinians and injuring hundreds more.
According to Reuters, which cited anonymous diplomats and sources familiar with the Biden administration’s strategy, the United States is “delaying” the U.N. Security Council’s “efforts to issue a public statement on escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinians because it could be harmful to behind-the-scenes efforts to end the violence.”
One source told the outlet that the U.S. is “actively engaged in diplomacy behind the scenes with all parties to achieve a cease-fire,” but the official did not specify how a U.N. Security Council joint statement—which must be agreed to by consensus—would undermine those talks.
The Guardian confirmed Reuters‘ reporting, noting early Wednesday that the Biden administration “blocked a U.N. Security Council statement calling for a cease-fire” as horrifying footage of the situation on the ground in Gaza continues to emerge.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price repeatedly dodged when asked whether the Biden administration has dropped its opposition to the U.N. Security Council statement, which was first put forth by the Norwegian mission on Monday.
“The provocations that we have seen have resulted in a lamentable, deeply lamentable, loss of life—of Israeli life and of Palestinian life,” said Price, who a day earlier refused to condemn Israel’s killing of children in airstrikes on Gaza. “Our message continues to be one of de-escalation. We do not want to see any actor, be it a government or be it an intergovernmental body, take an action that could serve to escalate rather than de-escalate.”
The U.N. Security Council is set to hold another emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the joint statement, a version of which reportedly calls on Israel to “cease settlement activities, demolitions, and evictions” in occupied East Jerusalem and elsewhere.
On Tuesday, a U.N. spokesperson said Secretary-General António Guterres is “gravely concerned by the serious escalations in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel, including the latest escalation in Gaza, which add to the heightened tensions and violence in occupied East Jerusalem.”
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