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"Israel has an official army committing war crimes and acts of state terrorism," said Kidwa
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UNITED
NATIONS, October 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A United
States veto against an Arab-backed draft UN Security Council
resolution, demanding Israel to immediately end its running Gaza
onslaught, drew flack Tuesday, October 5, for failing the Palestinian
people once again.
"We
regret that such a balanced and credible text that was merely calling
upon Israel to end its military operation which causes so many human
losses and so much damage has not gained unanimous endorsement by the
council," Algerian Ambassador Abdalla Baali told Reuters news
agency.
Baali,
whose country is the council’s only Arab member, said the 15-nation
body appeared to be effective only when it chastised Arab nations.
He
recalled in this respect the recent US-drafted resolution demanding
Syrian to pull
out troops from Lebanon, though opposed by even Beirut.
"The
Security Council has once again failed the Palestinian people,"
lamented the Algerian diplomat who tabled the draft on behalf of the
UN Arab Group.
The
draft resolution would have demanded "the immediate cessation of
all military operations in the area of northern Gaza" and the
withdrawal of Israeli forces.
A
total of 11 nations voted in favor of Tuesday’s measure while
Britain, Germany and Romania abstained.
The
draft was killed stone dead by US Ambassador John Danforth who
exercised his veto power.
Voting
in favor of the resolution were Russia, France, China, Spain, Angola,
Chile, Pakistan, Algeria, Benin, Brazil and the Philippines.
Britain,
Germany and Russia attempted to get a last minute compromise by adding
some amendments but the effort failed.
‘Sad
Day’
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A Palestinian girl carries her 6-month-old brother after the Israeli raid into Beit Lahya
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Palestinian
UN observer Nasser Al-Kidwa said it was a "sad day" for the
Arab world.
He
regretted that some council members spoke only of Israeli deaths when
in fact the Israeli army was trying to destroy "the entire
Palestinian people -- the destruction of its life and its
future."
"Israel
has an official army committing war crimes and acts of state
terrorism," said the diplomat.
Palestinian
Minister of Negotiations Saeb Erekat chided Washington over its never
ending bias towards Israel, accusing it of treating Arabs with scorn
and ridicule.
French
Ambassador to the UN Jean-Marc de la Sabliere regretted that the
Security Council remained paralyzed to address such a central issue.
He
said the draft was the only way for the Council to respond rapidly
"to the steadily deteriorating situation" in Gaza.
Despite
abstention, Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry agreed with most
council members that the Israeli response was disproportionate.
"The
current action undertaken by the Israeli defense forces is causing
large numbers of civilian deaths and injuries in Gaza."
80th
Veto
The
veto was the 80th by the United States in 59 years, including 29
related to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The
last
was on March 25 against Israel's assassination of Hamas spiritual
leader 67-year-old wheelchair-bound Ahmed Yassin.
US
Ambassador to the UN John Danforth claimed the draft was
"lopsided and unbalanced."
"The
United States has no problem with tough words, but only when they are
accurate and there is balance," he said.
"When
the rest of the world gangs up on Israel with insidious silence about
terrorism, it does not advance the cause of peace," Danforth
claimed.
"It
encourages both sides to dig in. It makes Israel feel isolated and
backed into a corner, and it discourages dialogue."
More
Palestinians Killed
Hours
after the US veto, Israeli tanks shelled the northern Gaza Strip city
of Beit Lahya, killing at least three Palestinians and injuring 12
others, including eight children.
A
father and son were killed when a tank shell exploded in the Jabaliya
refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the sources said.
Earlier
17-year-old Attalah Qahman was killed and 10 other Palestinians,
including eight children, were injured by Israeli tank fire in the
nearby town of Beit Lahya, according to hospital sources.
A
Palestinian teenager was killed by Israeli gunfire also Wednesday,
October 6, in the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem.
The
bloody Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip’s Jabaliya refugee camp
entered Wednesday, its eighth day, claiming the lives of some 85
Palestinians.
