UN veto not a 'license to eliminate civilians': Russian envoy

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The United States has never ever understood the true purpose of the right of veto in the United Nations and has actually misused it to make
it possible for the Israeli war device to eliminate Palestinians, Russias Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia has said.The
UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Wednesday requiring an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
The vote came three weeks after the US vetoed a similarly worded movement in the UN Security Council.General Assembly resolutions are exempt
to vetoes and are non-binding in nature, unlike Security Council resolutions.The right of veto was not conceived by the starting fathers of
the UN to offer their buddies a license to eliminate civilians, but it was created as a tool to guarantee that the decisions of the Security
Council are balanced, Nebenzia said in his address to the Assembly on Wednesday.Unfortunately, the US never ever recognized that and is
using this instrument to offer leeway to the Israeli war maker, he added.The General Assembly demanded an instant, genuine and irreversible
ceasefire in Gaza, adopting the file with 158 votes in favor to nine against, with 13 abstentions
Israel and the United States were among the nations that voted versus the motion.On November 20, the US, a permanent member of the Security
Council, blocked a comparable draft resolution that demanded an instant and unconditional ceasefire in the occupied area, and an instant and
genuine release of all hostages
The document protected 14 votes in favor.According to the UN Security Council voting system, for a resolution to be adopted, it must secure
a minimum of 9 votes in favor, and no votes against.The US representative, Ambassador Robert Wood, stated at the time that Washington might
not support a ceasefire unless it was connected to the release of captives being kept in Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups.The
Security Council resolution was the latest victim of the self-centered and narrow-minded geopolitical interests of the United States,
Nebenzia claimed.The November veto showed that the Democratic administration of outgoing United States President Joe Biden had taken the
side of brutal force, inhumanity and overall impunity, he said.If you are a close ally of the United States, you have no laws or limitations
to comply with, and commitments under international law are nothing but hot air.Nearly 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by
Israeli forces because October 2023, according to local officials.Israel has firmly insisted that its operation in Gaza will continue up
until all captives are freed and the danger to the Jewish state presented by Hamas and allied groups are eliminated.The war broke out on
October 7, 2023, when the militant group carried out a surprise attack on Israeli cities, eliminating some 1,200 people and abducting over
250
According to Israeli officials, around 100 captives remain in captivity.