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U.N.
Delays Voting On Israeli Aggression On Syria
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"Consultations
will take place as soon as possible," Negroponte
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UNITED
NATIONS, October 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The U.N.
Security Council on Sunday, October 5, stopped short of condemning the
Israeli raid on Syrian territories Saturday, October 4, overnight,
sufficing to adjourn the debate without taking a vote.
Israeli
warplanes mounted
an air strike on Ain as-Saheb region some 35 kilometers (21 miles)
west of Damascus, despite the disengagement treaty signed by both
countries in 1974.
Israel
alleged that it struck a military base in the region, which was used
by the Palestinian resistance movement the Islamic Jihad, which
claimed Haifa
operation that killed 20 people and injured scores.
"Consultations
will take place as soon as possible," U.S. Ambassador John
Negroponte, the council current president, told reporters after the
session, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He,
however, set no date for the resumption of the meeting, arguing that,
in the U.S. point of view, no new United Nations Security Council
resolution was needed at this point.
He
further stepped up the hostile rhetoric against Syria.
"What
is needed is for Syria to dismantle the terrorism in its
borders," the U.S. envoy said.
Syria
introduced a draft resolution on Sunday that "strongly condemns
the military aggression carried by Israel against the sovereignty and
territory of the Syrian Arab Republic ... in violation of the charter
of the United Nations, the rules and principles of international law
and relevant Security Council resolutions."
The
draft also calls on the Security Council to declare the attack a
violation of the 1974 treaty and to demand Israel not to act in
a way that threatens regional security.
Israel
defended the strike as a legitimate act of self-defense against a
state that supports "terrorists."
Israel's
U.N. ambassador, Dan Gillerman, criticized the council for rushing
into session on the eve of the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur (or the
Day of Atonement), while ignoring repeated Palestinian attacks on
Israel, calling it a "double standard" that puts the world
body's credibility at risk.
"There
are few better exhibits of state sponsorship of terrorism then the one
provided by the Syrian regime," Gillerman said.
But
Syrian Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad said he was heartened by the fact
that most members of the Security Council condemned the Israeli raid
in their speeches.
He
said Syria did not insist on an immediate vote in order to give
delegates time to consult with their respective governments.
Alert
Meanwhile,
Syria's official press said Monday, October 6, that Damascus called on
the Syrian leadership to be at maximum alert "in the face of an
enemy who seeks escalation and commits terrorist acts."
Al-Baath,
the daily of Syria's ruling Baath party, said, "Israel is killing
and destroying in defiance of international law, because it is assured
of American protection."
"Yesterday's
aggression by aircraft of the Zionist enemy inside Syrian territory
calls for a strengthening of the struggle, because it shows once again
that Israel will continue its aggressive policy," it added.
Al-Baath
said that "Syria reaffirms its strategic choice of a fair and
comprehensive peace based on international resolutions the principle
of land for peace."
But
it warned that "peace is impossible without the return of Arab
rights."
The
government newspaper Tishrin said, "Syria's military forces led
by President Bashar Al-Assad must be prepared in the face of an enemy
who seeks escalation and commits terrorist acts".
The
air strike was the deepest military strike by Israel inside Syria
since the October War 30 years ago, in which Israel was defeated by
the Egyptian army.
The
area was sealed off by Syrian authorities and reporters and
photographers stopped from entering. Damascus said the attack hit a
civilian area, causing material damage.
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