US veroes UN resolution on Israel ... again

[Martino]

An Arab-backed UN resolution condemning the death of 18 Palestinians and calling on the Palestinian Authority to unilaterally end the firing of rockets on Israeli territory - and the US vetoed it.

Well done, guys.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/6139968.stm



The United States has vetoed a draft resolution at the United Nations that would have condemned Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The draft was put forward by Qatar after an Israeli attack earlier this week, which killed 18 Palestinian civilians in the town of Beit Hanoun.

The US ambassador at the UN, John Bolton, described the text as unbalanced and politically motivated.

Ten of 15 Security Council members backed the resolution, four abstained.

The abstainers were the UK, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia.

This was the second time this year the US used its veto on a draft resolution on Israeli military operation in Gaza.

The first came after Israel launched an operation over the summer to free a soldier kidnapped by militants.

'Not even-handed'

The resolution condemned the Israel's military operations in Gaza as well as Wednesday's attack, and called for a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.

Sections were later added calling on the Palestinian Authority to take action to end the violence and asking the UN secretary general to set up a fact-finding mission into the deaths.

Mr Bolton said the US regretted the Palestinian loss of life, but disagreed with the language used in the resolution.

"This resolution does not display an even-handed characterisation of the recent events in Gaza, nor does it advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace to which we aspire and for which we are working assiduously," he said.

Qatar's ambassador said the credibility of the Security Council had been called into question by the vote and the cycle of violence in the Middle East would continue.

Israel launched its operation in and around Beit Hanoun last month in an effort to root out militants firing rockets.

The deaths were caused when what witnesses described as a volley of tank shells hit a built-up civilian area. Many of the dead were from one extended family, and included several women and children.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apologised for the attack, describing it as a "technical failure".

[Martino]

America and its damned veroes ...

[yoMAMA]

heroes for veroes.

[LaiSteve66]

I honestly don't think Israel is worth supporting. It's beyond me why the U.S. gives the level of support that is does to Israel.

[Faithless]

Originally Posted by Martino

America and its damned veroes ...

Ro-ro, Shaggy. Veroes!

Makes sense that the US would do that. Can't condemn Israel without condemning itself.

[Martino]

Originally Posted by Faithless

Makes sense that the US would do that. Can't condemn Israel without condemning itself.

All the world can see is the US approving of the deaths of Arab women and kids - No condemnation = Arab lives are worthless.

It's also another missed opportunity, as the final draft of the resolution called on Arab countries to find some way to restrain the rocket attacks on Israel.

It is just incredibly, incredibly dumb that the US has to keep up its pro-Israel bias at such a high diplomatic level, reinforcing every negative stereotype of modern America.

[CBC guy]

It wasn't always so... But after 1967 America poured $$ into Israel to make it into a pro-US state and this has been the case ever since. America must support israel pretty much no matter what, or at least it felt that way. The Christian fundamentalists esp. essentially get the US to support Israel to promote their own idea of the acopalypse, and Israel is only too happy to oblige. Don't forget the AIPAC, an extremely influential and powerful pro-Israel lobby in the US.

[Martino]

The timing of this last veto could be costly in other ways. With support for the occupation of Iraq dissolving at home, the US is now clearly looking at rapid exit strategies. Yet the US cannot leave whilst the situation on the ground in Iraq continues to worsen. If the US politicians want America out of Iraq before the next election, with minimum new casualties, it's going to have to look to the Arab world for help.

Shame then it's just kicked sand in their faces yet again.