Bolton hits out at Biden for UN-rejected Gaza resolution: 'Very damaging to Israel'

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton criticized President Biden after the United Nations Security Council rejected a U.S.-backed resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and said the plan would be “very damaging to Israel.”

“Friday's U.N. The Biden administration has proposed a resolution that would be extremely damaging to Israel and its efforts to defeat Hamas terrorists,” Bolton told radio host John Visimatis in an interview Sunday on “The Gates Roundtable” on WABC 770 AM.

The council voted Friday to reject a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages held by Hamas. The final vote was 11 in favor, three against, and one abstention. Russia and China, which are permanent members of the council and therefore have veto power, voted against.

The Biden-backed resolution signaled a major shift for the United States, which had previously blocked any attempt to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The resolution also demanded the release of the hostages, as Hamas is believed to still have 100 hostages alive in Gaza.

Bolton said the change from the Biden administration was “not tied to a deal to exchange hostages” to give Israel what it needed, adding that the plan was “what the Europeans wanted, what Hamas wanted.”

He argued that Hamas wanted a cease-fire to get “the same relief from Israel's attack on their underground tunnels.”

“This is a real slap in the face by the United States to Israel, and … that resolution was vetoed by China and Russia, which is a slap in the face to the Biden administration,” he said.

China and Russia's vetoes show that those countries “see Biden as weak and ineffective, and they show that Biden can't get out of his own way,” Bolton said.

In the past, the US has vetoed three previous resolutions before the Security Council that called for an unconditional ceasefire, including the release of hostages. The U.S. shift shows that Biden and his administration have adapted to war as more humanitarian aid is delivered to civilians in Gaza, and pressure from leaders and voters to downplay Israel.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, Israel has launched a deadly counteroffensive. More than 31,000 people have been killed in the fighting in Gaza and the UN has warned of famine in the north of the territory.