Trump admin stands by Israel, rejects UN resolution backed by UK and France
The U.S. rejected a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, standing by Jerusalem. France, the U.K., Russia and China all supported the resolution, which received 14 votes in favor and one vote against, meaning it was not adopted by the council.
"It is inexplicable that many members of this council still refuse to acknowledge that Hamas could end this conflict tomorrow by surrendering and laying down its arms. It is unconscionable that the U.N. still has not labeled and sanctioned Hamas as a terrorist organization," U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Dorothy Shea said.
In her remarks, Shea also stated that the Security Council could not "reward Hamas' intransigence" after the terror group rejected multiple ceasefire proposals.
Hamas was not condemned in the draft resolution, which only included a demand that terror organizations in Gaza release the remaining 58 hostages.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon thanked the U.S. for voting against the resolution.
"We thank the United States for standing on the right side. For standing on the side of truth, justice, and moral clarity. Thank you for refusing to abandon the hostages and for refusing to legitimize the lies of this resolution," Danon said in a statement.
U.K. Ambassador to the U.N. Barbara Woodward defended her country's decision to vote in favor of the resolution, saying that "the intolerable situation in Gaza needs to end." She said that the U.K. is "determined to see an end to this war," condemned Israel's actions in Gaza and called on the Jewish state to ease restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust Anne Bayefsky slammed the resolution and its "obscene equation between the hostages — who have been starved, tortured and executed over the past 19 months — and Palestinian prisoners." However, Bayefsky argued that the resolution was not just about the U.N. attacking Israel, it's about members of the international body taking a swipe at President Donald Trump.
"Make no mistake, this is an attack on the United States, and President Trump in particular, by the French and the British, who are attempting to use the United Nations to sideline and belittle the U.S.," Bayefsky told Fox News Digital.
Shea also had a warning for the world body. "Engaging in this performative process at a time when serious questions are being asked about the utility of the U.N., its funding and use of resources is shameful. This council should not be used in this way. This council must hold itself to a higher standard."
Earlier on Wednesday, Danon issued a statement against the resolution, saying it "undermines" humanitarian aid efforts and "ignores the reality on the ground."
"It ignores the one party still endangering civilians in Gaza: Hamas. The group that hijacks trucks and stockpiles the aid to their benefit," Danon said. "If you care about the people of Gaza, then stop protecting those who started this war and continue to prolong it. If you care about aid, then help ensure it reaches civilians and not terrorists."
Ultimately, Danon said that the resolution "betrays the very people it claims to protect."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
17 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Daybreak: Trump-Musk Feud
On today's podcast: 1) Elon Musk and President Donald Trump engage in a public dispute the traded personal barbs and weighed down Tesla stock and Musk's personal wealth. The dispute began over differences on the GOP tax legislation, with Musk opposing the bill and Trump accusing Musk of being motivated by self-interest. After Tesla shares tanked 14% and Musk's personal wealth dropped by $34 billion, Musk signaled a willingness to cool tensions with Trump, responding to a user's advice to "cool off and take a step back for a couple days" with "Good advice." 2) Tensions appear to be easing between the US and China. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to further trade talks to resolve disputes over tariffs and rare earth minerals. The two leaders had a 90-minute call, during which Trump acknowledged that the trade relationship with China had gotten "a little off track" but said they are now "in very good shape" with a trade deal. 3) Investors brace for a critical May Jobs Report. Traders are awaiting the key monthly nonfarm payrolls report, which may reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at least twice this year.
Associated Press
20 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Federal vs. state power at issue in a hearing over Trump's election overhaul executive order
BOSTON (AP) — Democratic state attorneys general on Friday will seek to block President Donald Trump's proposal for a sweeping overhaul of U.S. elections in a case that tests a constitutional bedrock — the separation of powers. The top law enforcement officials from 19 states filed a federal lawsuit after the Republican president signed the executive order in March, arguing that its provisions would step on states' power to set their own election rules and that the executive branch had no such authority. In a filing supporting that argument, a bipartisan group of former secretaries of state said Trump's directive would upend the system established by the Constitution's Elections Clause, which gives states and Congress control over how elections are run. They said the order seeks to 'unilaterally coronate the President as the country's chief election policymaker and administrator.' If the court does not halt the order, they argued, 'the snowball of executive overreach will grow swiftly and exponentially.' Trump's election directive was part of a flurry of executive orders he has issued in the opening months of his second term, many of which have drawn swift legal challenges. It follows years of him falsely claiming that his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election was due to widespread fraud and an election year in which he and other Republicans promoted the notion that large numbers of noncitizens threatened the integrity of U.S. elections. In fact, voting by noncitizens is rare and, when caught, can lead to felony charges and deportation. Trump's executive order would require voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections, prohibit mail or absentee ballots from being counted if they are received after Election Day, set new rules for voting equipment and prohibit non-U.S. citizens from being able to donate in certain elections. It also would condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to the strict ballot deadline. The hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston comes in one of three lawsuits filed against the executive order. One is from Oregon and Washington, where elections are conducted almost entirely by mail and ballots received after Election Day are counted as long as they are postmarked by then. The provision that would create a proof-of-citizenship requirement for federal elections already has been halted in a lawsuit filed by voting and civil rights groups and national Democratic organizations. In that case, filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, the judge said the president's attempt to use a federal agency to enact a proof-of-citizenship requirement for voting usurped the power of states and Congress, which at the time was considering legislation that would do just that. That bill, called the SAVE Act, passed the U.S. House but faces an uncertain future in the Senate. Trump's executive order said its intent was to ensure 'free, fair and honest elections unmarred by fraud, errors, or suspicion.' The Justice Department, in arguing against the motion by the attorneys general for a preliminary injunction, said the president is within his rights to direct agencies to carry out federal voting laws. The order tasks the U.S. Election Assistance Commission with updating the federal voter registration form to require people to submit documentation proving they are U.S. citizens. Similar provisions enacted previously in a handful of states have raised concerns about disenfranchising otherwise eligible voters who can't readily access those documents. That includes married women, who would need both a birth certificate and a marriage license if they had changed their last name. A state proof-of-citizenship law enacted in Kansas more than a decade ago blocked the registrations of 31,000 people later found to be eligible to vote. The two sides will argue over whether the president has the authority to direct the election commission, which was created by Congress as an independent agency after the Florida ballot debacle during the 2000 presidential election. In its filing, the Justice Department said Trump's executive order falls within his authority to direct officials 'to carry out their statutory duties,' adding that 'the only potential voters it disenfranchises are noncitizens who are ineligible to vote anyway.'
San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Lebanese army warns Israeli airstrikes might force it to freeze cooperation with ceasefire committee
BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese army condemned Friday Israel's airstrikes on suburbs of Beirut, warning that such attacks are weakening the role of Lebanon's armed forces that might eventually suspend cooperation with the committee monitoring the truce that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war. The army statement came hours after the Israeli military struck several buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs that it said held underground facilities used by Hezbollah for drone production. The strikes, preceded by an Israeli warning to evacuate several buildings, came on the eve of Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday. The Lebanese army said it started coordinating with the committee observing the ceasefire after Israel's military issued its warning and sent patrols to the areas that were to be struck to search them. It added that Israel rejected the suggestion. The U.S.-led committee that has been supervising the ceasefire that ended the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war in November is made up of Lebanon, Israel, France, the U.S. and the U.N. peacekeeping forces in Lebanon known as UNIFIL. 'The Israeli enemy violations of the deal and its refusal to respond to the committee is weakening the role of the committee and the army,' the Lebanese army said in its statement. It added such attacks by Israel could lead the army to freeze its cooperation with the committee 'when it comes to searching posts.' Since the Israel-Hezbollah war ended, Israel has carried out nearly daily airstrikes on parts of Lebanon targeting Hezbollah operatives. Beirut's southern suburbs were struck on several occasions since then. The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel began on Oct. 8, 2023, when the Lebanese militant group began launching rockets across the border in support of its ally, Hamas, in Gaza. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling and the two were quickly locked in a low-level conflict that continued for nearly a year before escalating into full-scale war in September 2024. It killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, while the Lebanese government said in April that Israeli strikes had killed another 190 people and wounded 485 since the ceasefire agreement. There has been increasing pressure on Hezbollah, both domestic and international, to give up its remaining arsenal, but officials with the group have said they will not do so until Israel stops its airstrikes and withdraws from five points it is still occupying along the border in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah says that it has ended its military presence along the border with Israel south of the Litani River, in accordance with terms of the ceasefire deal.
