The Security Council adopted late this afternoon a resolution condemning “the assassination attempts on the lives of the mayors of Nablus, Ramallah and El Bireh,” and calling “for the immediate apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators of these crimes.” The vote was 14-0 with the United States abstaining.
The resolution also expressed concern that Israel “has failed to provide adequate protection to the civilian population in the occupied territories,” and called “upon the government of Israel to provide the victims with adequate compensation for the damages suffered as a result of these crimes.” The resolution called on all states not to provide Israel with any aid to be used specifically in connection with settlements in the occupied territories.
The abstention by the U.S. came after Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S., Ephraim Evron, earlier today asked Vice President Walter Mondale and Secretary of State Edmund Muskie for a veto. Evron made the request at a White House luncheon given by Mondale for visiting Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem.
Prior to the vote, Yehuda Blum, Israeli Ambassador to the UN, said that so long as the identity of those who committed the bombings on the West Bank is unknown it is “incumbent on the Security Council to refrain from giving rein to suspicions and from casting blame. When the criminals are apprehended, they will be put on trial to answer for their crimes.”
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