Former National Security Advisor John Bolton criticized President Biden after the UN Security Council rejected a US-backed resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying the proposal was “very harmful to Israel.”
On Friday we saw something almost unimaginable at the UN Security Council. “The Biden administration has proposed a decision that is, in fact, very harmful to Israel and its efforts to defeat Hamas terrorists,” Bolton told radio host John Catsimatidis in an interview Sunday on “The Cats Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM.
The Council voted on Friday to reject the resolution, which calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages held by Hamas. The final vote was 11 votes in favor, three against, and one abstention. Russia and China, permanent members of the council and thus with veto power, voted against the resolution.
The resolution supported by Biden signals a major shift for the United States, which previously blocked any attempts to call a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. The resolution also called for the release of the hostages, as Hamas is believed to be holding about 100 hostages still alive in Gaza.
Bolton said that the change from the Biden administration “is not linked to a hostage exchange agreement” to give Israel what it wants, and said that the proposal is “what the Europeans wanted, and this is what Hamas wanted.”
He said that Hamas wants a ceasefire to get “the same relief from the Israeli attack on its underground tunnels.”
He said: “This decision taken by the United States is a real slap to Israel, and… this decision was vetoed by China and Russia, which is just a slap in the face of the Biden administration.”
Bolton said the vetoes used by China and Russia showed that the two countries “view Biden as weak and ineffective and show that Biden cannot get out of his way.”
In the past, the United States used its veto power against three previous resolutions before the Security Council calling for a ceasefire without any conditions, such as calling for the release of hostages. The change by the US shows that Biden and his administration have changed direction on the war, with more humanitarian aid being delivered to civilians in Gaza, and leaders and voters putting pressure on them to talk to Israel.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking nearly 250 hostage, Israel has launched a deadly counterattack. More than 31,000 people were killed in Gaza in the war, and the United Nations warns of famine in the northern Gaza Strip.
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