Duplicity at the UN, again

How many times does the United States have to veto a misguided UN Security Council resolution on the Israel/Hamas war until the other countries on the council understand that Hamas must be condemned by name, the fighting should stop, and all the Israeli hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7 have to be released?

The answer is at least three, as recently U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield correctly cast another U.S. veto on the war, following ones in October and December. The problem with this current resolution, offered by Algeria, is that again Hamas went blameless and there was no causation between a pause in the combat and freedom for the hostages.

Thomas-Greenfield says that she is working on a draft resolution to do just that, but it faces a veto threat by the peace-loving Red Chinese and Russians, who jointly vetoed an October resolution because it was too harsh on the murderers and rapists of Hamas.

Beijing and Moscow are striving to sow as much discord as they can while Washington is trying to achieve a ceasefire and the return of the hostages. American diplomacy, working with Qatar and Egypt, succeeded earlier and negotiations are still underway.

But the Algeria plan would not work. Hamas would use the quieting of the fighting to retrench and rearm, extending the war instead of ending it.

The best outcome would be for Hamas to immediately surrender all remaining Israeli hostages and leave Gaza. The terrorists’ 17-year reign over Gaza ended in disaster for Palestinians, as well as for death for Israelis. Instead of freedom, prosperity and liberty, they brought on a war which has ruined the lives of everyone in the Gaza Strip.

The long-suffering Palestinians must be freed from Hamas.