Israeli officials breathed a sigh of relief Friday as the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution strongly deploring Israel’s handling of unrest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The resolution, which condemned “violation of human rights” and “persistent policies and practices against the Palestinian people,” was supported by the 14 other current members of the Security Council.
As one of five permanent members of the Security Council, the United States reserves the power of veto.
Explaining the U.S. move, Ambassador Herbert Okun said the resolution was flawed because it severely criticized Israeli polices without taking into account “the context in which they occur or the excesses of the other side.”
His statements closely matched those of Israeli officials two weeks ago when they responded to a U.S. State Department human rights report highly critical of Israeli actions in the territories.
Israelis were concerned that the report’s critical passages would be reflected in subsequent U.S. diplomacy, like the Security Council vote.
Okun referred obliquely to the human rights report when he said that the United States had made clear to the Israelis its concern over the razing of Palestinian homes, inappropriate use of live fire in riot control and the expulsion of Palestinian residents.
The vetoed resolution would have strongly criticized Israel for “the opening of fire that has resulted in injuries and deaths of Palestinian civilians, including children.”
It would have called on Israel to comply with articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention that protect civilians in time of war, and on the United Nations to help achieve a lasting settlement of the Middle East conflict.
The debate, which began Feb. 10 was largely the initiative of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s U.N. delegation, now known as the Palestine Permanent Observer Mission.
In four days of debate, virtually all of the speakers criticized Israel for its actions in the 14-month-old Palestinian uprising, in which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured in clashes with Israeli troops.
Speaking at the opening of the debate, Israel’s acting U.N. ambassador, Johanan Bein, said that Israel’s actions in the territories were justified in the face of violent demonstrations. He said Israel continued to call for direct negotiations with Palestinians and Arab countries versus an international conference.
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