U.S. Blocks Security Council Condemnation of Israelc
13 July 2006
Bolton calls on Iran, Syria to stop fueling Hamas terrorism
United Nations -- The United States has blocked a Security Council resolution calling on Israel to halt its military operations in Gaza.
The United States used its veto July 13 to stop a Qatar-sponsored resolution that condemned the Israeli military operation calling it a disproportionate use of force. The resolution received 10 votes in favor. Denmark, Peru, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom abstained.
The United States vetoed a similar resolution on Israeli operations in Gaza in October 2004.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton called the text "unbalanced" in that it placed demands on one side of the Middle East conflict and not the other. He added that it would exacerbate tensions in the region and was "untimely" and "outmoded" because it did not take into account current operations on the Israeli Lebanese border or U.N. efforts.
"Passage would have undermined the credibility of the Security Council, which itself must be seen by both sides as an honest broker in the Middle East conflict," Bolton told the council. The issue for the United States is whether action by the council makes a peaceful solution in the Middle East more or less likely, "not simply whether or not the council seems to be 'engaged.'"
The best way to resolve the immediate crisis, the ambassador said, "is for Hamas to secure the safe and unconditional release" of the Israeli soldier kidnapped on June 25.
Bolton criticized the resolution for not taking into account Hizballah attacks along the blue line between Israel and Lebanon and ignoring Hamas and its Syrian and Iranian sponsors.
Establishing the foundations for peace will require the council to focus on the state sponsors of terror who back Hamas, he said. "Without the financial and material support of Damascus and Tehran, Hamas would be severely crippled in carrying out its terrorist operations."
"We call upon Syria and Iran to end their role as state sponsors of terror and unequivocally condemn the actions of Hamas," including the kidnapping, Bolton said. "We yet again call upon Syria to arrest the Hamas ringleader, Khaled Meshal, who currently resides in Damascus.
"We stress again our condemnation of Syrian and Iranian support of Hizballah, which has claimed responsibility for the other kidnappings along the blue line," he said.
The ambassador also called on the government of the Palestinian Authority "to stop all acts of violence and terror and comply with the principles enunciated by the Quartet: renounce terror, recognize Israel, and accept previous obligations and agreements, including the roadmap."
Earlier in the day, Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that he was dispatching a three-person team led by his special political advisor, Vijay Nambiar, to the Middle East to help defuse the crisis. Accompanying Nambiar are Alvaro de Soto and Terje Roed Larsen.
The team will visit Cairo, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria to emphasize the need for restraint and Annan's offer to do whatever possible to help contain the conflict, a U.N. spokesman said.
The resolution condemned both the Israeli and Palestinian actions and called on the Palestinian Authority to take immediate and sustained action to bring an end to violence, including the firing of rockets into Israel. It called for the immediate and unconditional release of all detained Palestinian ministers, legislators and other officials, and emphasized the need to preserve the institutions of the Palestinian Authority.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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