WHEN the United States vetoed the Algeria-sponsored resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring unhindered flow of humanitarian aid, it was not a shock. The US attitude is not surprising anymore. That it was the only country in a 15-member council to oppose the resolution was not embarrassing for the US either because ethics and conscience have never been the strong points of US foreign policy.

The fact, however, remains that the US veto was not a political move; it was a brutal betrayal of humanity. It was an undemocratic, draconian and blind exercise of veto power, an arrogant assertion of impunity that bulldozed a unanimous global call for compassion.

The American veto emboldened the inhuman blockade, gave green light to the militarisation of aid, and legitimised starvation as a weapon of war. At a time when global conscience is crying out over Israel`s savagery, the veto was not just disappointing. It was monstrous.

The veto is not without consequences.

It will lead to more deaths, more devastation, and a further withering away of innocent smiles. It grants the Zionist settler-colonial state a renewed licence to kill with impunity, both within Gaza and beyond. Even today, Israel is violating the sovereignty of many a country, escalating conflicts and daring the world to hold it accountable.

No one dares, because the world`s most powerful shield the US veto is there for Israel. That it is a moral collapse is something that does not bother the US or Israel one small bit. History, however, will remember this moment not as a diplomatic calculation, but as a moment when the mask of democracy slipped, and the world power showed its true face.

Qamer Soomro Shikarpur