UNITED NATIONS, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The Kuwaiti ambassador to the United Nations on Friday vowed to go to the General Assembly for the protection of Palestinians after a draft resolution of his delegation for that purpose was vetoed by the United States.
"We will consider going to the General Assembly, going to other UN bodies to try to find a way to provide international protection for the Palestinian civilians," Kuwaiti ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi told reporters.
Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, said at the same press encounter that a decision will be made in a matter of days.
"We are determined to continue in this process because we are determined to have international protection for our civilian population under occupation, until the end of occupation," said Mansour.
Otaibi said he was disappointed by the U.S. veto of his delegation's draft resolution.
Ten of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the Kuwaiti draft, and only the United States voted against it, he noted.
The Kuwaiti text could not be adopted because the United States, as a permanent member of the council, has veto power. The other four council members abstained.
The Kuwaiti text, circulated after weeks of violence in Gaza between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, deplores the use of excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force by the Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians. It calls for the consideration of measures to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinians.
The Kuwaiti draft further calls for immediate steps toward ending the closure and the restrictions imposed by Israel on movement and access into and out of the Gaza Strip.
The United States tabled a competing draft resolution and was put to vote after the Kuwaiti one. The U.S. text won only one vote in favor -- from the United States itself. Three council members -- Kuwait, Russia and Bolivia -- voted against it, and the remaining 11 members abstained.
A Security Council resolution needs at least nine affirmative votes to be adopted, on the condition that none of the five permanent members of the council -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States -- votes against it.
The U.S. draft resolution blames Hamas for the recent escalation of violence in Gaza.
