Calling the draft one-sided and "silent about the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas," the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution Thursday evening that condemned Israel for killing Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
With 11 votes in favor and three abstentions, cast by Britain, Germany and Romania, the US cast its veto after the 15-member council declined to add calls for a cessation of terror attacks against Israel, and mention of the March 14 Hamas attack in Ashdod that killed 10 Israelis, to the Algerian-sponsored text.
The US draft provisions deleted all mention of extrajudicial killings, and it declared the council "deeply shocked" by both Yassin's killing and the Ashdod attack.
Dore Gold, an adviser to the Israeli Government, said, "Israel is very appreciative of the steadfastness demonstrated by President Bush's US administration, which once again defended the principles of the fight against terrorism."
"Set aside the US veto, Great Britain's and Germany's abstention, this vote once again illustrated the sheer hypocrisy of the Security Council. The proposed text made no reference to terrorist organisations and the 337 Israelis killed by Hamas, while focusing only on the defensive operation carried out by Israel," Gold said.
The unamended draft, which was supported by Algeria, Angola, Benin, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Pakistan, the Philippines and Spain, condemned "the most recent extrajudicial execution committed by Israel" against Yassin, and it called for a cessation of targeted assassinations. Also condemned were terrorist attacks "against all civilians" and "all acts of violence and destruction."
"This resolution should never have even be considered," said Israel's UN ambassador, Dan Gillerman, after the vote. Noting that the Security Council has remained silent as more than 1,000 Israelis were killed in Palestinian terrorist attacks since September 2000, Gillerman said, "A resolution mentioning Sheikh Yassin without mentioning Hamas is shameless and hypocritical."
In a comment directed at the Spanish ambassador to the UN, Inocencio Arias, whose nation lost more than 200 civilians in a March 11 terrorist attack in Madrid, Gillerman said: "If you knew before the bloody massacre of your citizens took place who was going to carry that horrendous act out, would you have sat still and let it happen?"
Within hours of the attack, Spain, which currently heads the UN's Counter-Terrorism Committee, led the passage of a council resolution condemning, mistakenly it turned out, the Basque separatist group ETA for the attack.
US Ambassador John Negroponte said the United States disapproved of Yassin's killing, but called the language of the resolution "unbalanced" and said it threatened to complicate peace efforts.
"This Security Council does nothing to contribute to a peaceful settlement when it condemns one party's actions and turns a blind eye to everything else occurring in the region," Negroponte said.
"Israeli policies are not part of the battle against international terrorism; it's part of the problem of creating terrorism," said Nasser al-Kidwa, the Palestinian representative.
Russia, which voted for the resolution, expressed regret over the US decision.
"We regret the failure to reach consensus at the UN Security Council in connection with a dangerous outbreak of violence in the Middle East," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said, according to the Interfax news agency. "There was a chance to reach consensus if the consultations continued."
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, warned that the assassination could spark fresh bloodletting in the Middle East.
"We deeply regret that the Security Council of the United Nations has failed to shoulder its responsibility in security issues," Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said. Indonesia is not a member of the Security Council.
Negroponte said the United States, too, was "deeply troubled" by the killing of Yassin but could not support the resolution because it failed to mention recent attacks by Hamas, including a suicide bombing in Ashdod that killed 10 Israelis last week.
Algerian envoy Abdullah Baali, meanwhile, criticized the US for exercising its veto.
"The Security Council is not sending the right message to the world, which has unanimously condemned this crime," said Baali. "It is not sending the right message to those who believe the Security Council is the custodian of international law."
He said members of the 22-nation Arab Group planned to meet to discuss whether to bring the resolution to the General Assembly. While assembly resolutions are non-binding, passage of anti-Israel resolutions are virtually assured by what Gillerman has termed an "automatic immoral majority against Israel" in the 191-member body.
Addressing the council after the vote, Gillerman urged the custodians of international law to "stop tolerating resolutions that pretend the defensive response to terrorism is worse than the terrorism itself. The Security Council has a responsibility to the victims of terrorism and to the cause of peace," he said.
Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said: "I'm afraid that the American veto will be interpreted by the Israeli Government as an encouragement to continue the path of violence, escalation, assassination and reoccupation."
With Agencies
So now the US is siding with isreal 100% and is supporting the attack and used its veto power to ensure Isreal doesnt get in trouble.
Being Canadian, ill urge my leaders to not back any US actions, considering they are now condoning outright murder and then using its "power & influence" to protect its allies.
You know i always thought the radical muslims plight was a little too violent but now i see they have no choice. USA just hates them and will do anything to rid the world of them.
To me USA is doing a slow genocide against muslims. They are starting a war, and doing a fine job at it. If they keep it up britain will be their only ally.
