The US was the only country on the 15-member Security Council to vote against the resolution. Being one of the 5 permanent members of the council, the United States\u2019 vote in denial immediately vetoed the proposed resolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This marks the third time the United States has stopped a ceasefire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision was met with backlash from Amar Bendjama, who acts as Algeria\u2019s UN ambassador. Bendjama stated that voting against the proposal \u201cimplies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon them\u2026We should ask ourselves how many innocent lives must be sacrificed before the council deems it necessary to call for a ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa\u2019s ambassador to The Hague, Vusimuzi Madonsela said \u201cThe international community\u2019s unwillingness to hold Israel accountable for its practices encourages Israel to commit genocide in Gaza, the crime of crimes.\u201d On February 13th, South Africa began urgently petitioning the ICJ to intervene and halt any altercation in Rafah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Palestinian Ambassador became emotional: \u201cWhat does international law mean for children in Gaza today? It has protected neither them nor their families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, expressed her view that the resolution would have adverse effects on the negotiations between Hamas and Israel regarding the release of hostages in Gaza. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a response to denying the initially proposed resolution, the US has proposed a draft resolution that calls for a \u201ctemporary ceasefire\u201d in Gaza. It notes that an offensive in Rafah would \u201chave serious implications for regional peace and security\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the question remains: if the US is proposing a temporary ceasefire, why vote against the UN\u2019s initial proposal? <\/p>\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/02\/americans-divided-over-u.s.-support-for-israel-and-the-palestinians-968x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe image to the right contains the results of a poll conducted by Gallup in December 2023. The poll began as a weeklong truce between Israel and Hamas came to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s important to note that the United States was the only vote against the ceasefire. The UK chose to abstain. The remaining 13 countries acting as Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution. This includes nations that previously withdrew aid to the UNRWA in Gaza (Japan, Switzerland, and France.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many Politicians across the world are speaking up in support of a ceasefire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazil\u2019s president, Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, commented comparing Israel\u2019s war on Gaza to Hitler\u2019s treatment of Jewish people. “What is happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people has no parallel in other historical moments,” Lula said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“In fact, it did exist when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” he continued, referring to Nazi war crimes during World War Two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazil also decided to recall its ambassador from Israel and expel the Israeli ambassador who was currently in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombia\u2019s President expresses full solidarity with President Lula of Brazil. \u201cIn Gaza, there is a genocide, and thousands of children and women are cowardly murdered. Lula has only spoken the truth, and the truth must be defended, or barbarism will annihilate us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ireland stands strong with Palestine, with the Irish government refusing to cut funding to UNRWA in Gaza. The country is instead opting to allocate a new contribution of 20 million euros to the organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many other nations have also refused to cut their funding for the UNRWA. This includes Slovenia and Portugal, who have both increased funding amounts. The Spanish government has also refused to cut funding for UNRWA in Gaza, stating \u201cWe consider the UNRWA funding cuts by some countries as an attack against humanity.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spain has also suspended all arms export licenses to Israel since October 7, 2023, and pledged an additional $3.8 million in aid for UNRWA in Gaza. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other countries that have declared their intention to maintain UNRWA funding include Norway, Scotland, Luxembourg, and Belgium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though these places are far away from here in Cortland, NY, there is still so much happening around us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of 2024, community members voiced the want for a local resolution calling for a ceasefire by the Tompkins Country Legislature (TCL). In a vote held at the beginning of this month, the TCL rejected a ceasefire resolution in a 7-6 vote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Ithaca College, there was a silent protest boycotting an event intended to provide multiple viewpoints on the Israel-Hamas war. Students, including many students apart of Ithaca College Students For Palestine (ICSFP), disagreed with the position of Uriel Abulof, one of the event’s speakers. Abulof is an instructor in the School of Continuing Education at Cornell University and an associate professor in the School of Political Science, Government, and International Affairs at Tel Aviv University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When speaking to The Ithacan, ICSFP president Quincey Fireside said \u201cHe [Abulof] talks about the genocide as if it\u2019s caused by political zealotry, rather than by white supremacy and anti-Muslim sentiments.\u201d Fireside also stated that Abulof had a history of aligning with Israeli organizations and that the ICFSFP wanted more \u201cstage time for the Palestinian and anti-Zionist community on campus.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Cornell’s campus back in November 2023, 200 students lied on the floor of Klarman Hall to symbolize the lives of innocent people killed in the war. While students laid on the ground, Malak Abuhashim, a member of the executive board of Cornell\u2019s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, read the names of Palestinian children who were one year old or younger and died. <\/p>\n\n\n\n