Secretary of State Blinken Says U.N. Resolution Pairs ‘Text’ of Hostage Release With Ceasefire

By Hamodia Staff

Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a statement in which he explained the reason why the Biden Administration decided to abstain, rather than veto, a Security Council resolution which called for both a ceasefire during the moth of Ramadan and the unconditional release of all hostages.

“Today, the United States abstained on UN Security Council resolution 2728. This abstention, which comes on the heels of the Russian and Chinese veto of our comprehensive draft resolution in the Council, reaffirms the U.S. position that a ceasefire of any duration come as part of an agreement to release hostages in Gaza,” Blinken said. “While we do not agree with all provisions included in this text, adjustments made by the resolution’s sponsors over recent days are consistent with our principled position that any ceasefire text must be paired with text on the release of the hostages.”

Although the resolution contains a call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas, it does not directly condition the call for a ceasefire with the release of the hostages, an omission that Blinken did not mention and which Israel has objected to.

Blinken explained that the reason the United States abstained and did not explicitly vote for the resolution, was because it did not have key language that the US views as essential, “notably a condemnation of Hamas…This failure to condemn Hamas is particularly difficult to understand coming days after the world once again witnessed the horrific acts terrorist groups commit.”

The Secretery of State reiterated the need to increase humanitarian assistance to Gaza through all available routes – land, sea, and air.

“We continue to discuss with partners a pathway to the establishment of a Palestinian state with real security guarantees for Israel to establish long-term peace and security,” he said.