"The resolution put forward today was unbalanced and did not condemn terrorism in explicit terms," said Negroponte

NEW YORK, October 15 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The United States vetoed Tuesday, October 14, a Syrian-proposed U.N. Security Council resolution, condemning Israel for continuing its construction of the separation wall, which snakes through the Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

Using its veto power on the council for the second time in two months to block a measure criticizing Israel, U.S Ambassador to the world body John Negroponte killed the resolution, dismissing it as "unbalanced," reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"The resolution put forward today was unbalanced and did not condemn terrorism in explicit terms.

"This resolution failed to address both sides of the larger security context of the Middle East, including the devastating suicide attacks that Israelis have had to endure for the past three years," he said.

The so-called "Negroponte Doctrine," an informal policy formula named after the U.S. diplomat, states that the U.S. would veto any resolution on the Middle East conflict unless it also condemned "terrorism."

The proposed resolution stipulates that "the construction by Israel, the occupying power, of a wall in the occupied territories is illegal under relevant provisions of international law and must be ceased and reversed."

The vote came at the end of a day-long, bitter debate, with Israel's U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman clashing with his Palestinian counterpart Nasser al-Kidwa, the BBC News Online said.

"The establishment of the expansionist conquest wall by the occupying power is a crime of the same magnitude as a crime against humanity," al-Kidwa averred.

Ten nations on the 15-member council voted in favor while four -- Britain, Bulgaria, Cameroon and Germany -- abstained.

The five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- have veto power.

The defiant Israeli government of Ariel Sharon approved in October the first the 100-million-dollar second phase of the controversial wall.

The 600km-long wall will cut occupied Jerusalem off from the rest of the West Bank.

It will eventually snake some 900 kilometers (540 miles) along the West Bank and leave even larger swathes of its territory on the Israeli side and could cost up to $2.2 million a kilometer or a total of $1.8 billion, even though the Israeli economy is in dire straits.

The first phase of the barrier was completed in July 2003 in the northern West Bank, but further construction has been delayed by differences between Israel and Washington over the wall's route.

U.S. President George Bush had previously described the wall as "a problem" obstructing the creation of a Palestinian state.

However, he dropped the term four days later when Sharon was visiting him in the White House.

There were two Syrian-proposed bills against Israel at the Security Council one condemning the latest Israeli aggression on Syrian territories and the other on the wall.

Syria had rebuffed a demand of council members to include a condemnation of the recent Haifa bombing in the resolution against the Israeli air attack.

Last month, the United States vetoed an Arab-driven resolution condemning Israel for its decision to expel Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

'Reform'

"That is why countries like Malaysia have been talking about the need for the United Nations to be updated," said Albar

Meanwhile, Malaysia, the current president of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), said Wednesday, October 15, the U.S. veto highlights the need for reform of the world body.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said on the sidelines of the OIC meeting that Washington had already vetoed other resolutions denouncing Israel's policies towards the Palestinians.

"That is why countries like Malaysia have been talking about the need for the United Nations to be updated, that United Nations reforms are important so that the voice of the international community can be heard," he said.

Syed Hamid said the OIC, which groups 57 Muslim nations, remained powerless and could only voice its collective opinion.

"We are seeking for justice and fairness. I think we cannot fight the big powers, but we must make our views known in order to see justice done in Palestine... There is a roadmap and we must be serious in wanting to see the success of that roadmap."

The foreign minister said the OIC would issue a statement on the Palestinian situation at the end of a summit of the group's leaders on Thursday and Friday.