The United States and China, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, are at odds over the status of Monday’s resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during the final two weeks of Ramadan.
The United States abstained from the vote, while all other members of the UN Security Council supported Resolution 2728, which also called for the immediate release of the hostages and the removal of obstacles to humanitarian access.
“It’s not binding,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday.
Miller said the resolution “does not impose any new obligations on the parties.”
This position is in stark contrast to China.
“The Security Council resolutions are binding,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday.
Lin did not explicitly mention the United States and Israel, but said, “We expect that countries with significant influence will have a positive impact on the parties involved.”
In recent months, both the United States and China have vetoed a number of resolutions aimed at resolving the conflict in Gaza.
“There is no doubt that U.N. Security Council resolutions are binding,” said Kenneth Ross, former executive director of Human Rights Watch.
“The wording of the resolution is mandatory,” Ross, now a professor at Princeton University, wrote to VOA.
Lea Brilmayer, a professor at Yale Law School, said the UN Security Council has the authority to issue binding and non-binding resolutions.
“The question of whether a particular resolution is binding cannot be answered with complete certainty,” Brimmell told VOA.
“Resolving this issue is particularly difficult when different countries in the Security Council hold different positions on the issue. In this case, there is no common intention as to the purpose of the resolution.”
Israel says no to resolution
Amid the U.S.-China disagreement, Israel said it would not abide by the resolution.
“The State of Israel will not cease fire,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on his verified X account.
Israel’s representative to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, strongly criticized UN Security Council members for passing the resolution.
“Israeli blood is cheap to you. This is ridiculous and I am disgusted by what is happening here!”
At least 32,000 Palestinians, many of them children, were killed in Israel’s military response to an Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned against non-compliance with the resolution.
“This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable,” he wrote on the X.
While saying the resolution is non-binding, the State Department’s Miller said it should be respected.
“It has weight,” he said.
Experts say the U.S. position means Israel will face no consequences if it fails to comply with the resolution.
“The Security Council has a responsibility to enforce it,” Brimmell said.
The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on a number of countries that violate its resolutions.
“If Biden pretends that Security Council resolutions are not binding, then he is not only telling Israel that it does not have to stop bombing and starving Palestinian civilians, but he is also telling Hamas that it does not have to release hostages,” Ross said.
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