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09-16-2003, 06:01 PM
The United States vetoed an Arab-backed United Nations resolution Tuesday demanding that Israel halt threats to expel Yasser Arafat from the West Bank because it did not contain a condemnation of terrorist groups such as Hamas.
Eleven of the 15 Security Council nations voted in favor of the resolution and three abstained: Britain, Germany and Bulgaria.
Earlier Tuesday US officials said that they were not satisfied with a revised draft resolution demanding that the UN ensure the safety of Arafat, making a quick vote unlikely.
Syria had intended to push for a vote after a daylong open meeting on the Middle East Monday, but was persuaded by other council members to amend it and delay the vote for a day.
But US deputy ambassador James Cunningham told reporters Tuesday after seeing the new text that more consultations were needed.
"I don't think the revised text is any different from the previous text. Draw your own conclusions," he said. "I'm not sure it's going to come to a vote - or when it's going to come to a vote."
The resolution, drafted by Palestinian representative Nasser al-Kidwa, and sponsored by Syria, demands "that Israel, the occupying power, desist from any act of deportation and cease any threat to the safety of the elected president of the Palestinian Authority."
On Monday, diplomats from more than 40 countries took to the floor to condemn Israel's decision to remove Arafat. However, US Ambassador John Negroponte said Washington would veto the resolution in its present form because it does not condemn Palestinian terrorism and was "heavily biased" against Israel.
Addressing the council, UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed Larsen said the Middle East peace process has ground to a standstill and that more bloodshed is inevitable unless the road map can be quickly pushed forward.
Larsen criticized the Palestinians for failing to take advantage of a recent ceasefire to carry out security reforms including consolidation of security forces. He also criticized the Israeli decision on removing Arafat, as well as ongoing settlement activity.
In advance of the meeting, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman accused the Security Council of hypocrisy for considering the Palestinian resolution. Gillerman said the Security Council has met repeatedly to condemn Israeli actions, but ignores Palestinian suicide bombings and shooting attacks on Israelis.
As Gillerman was speaking, the Palestinian envoy to the UN Nasser al-Kidwa got up and left the discussion hall.
"High-minded rhetoric about the so-called legitimacy of Mr. Arafat's leadership and the illegitimacy of Israel's interference, are meaningless and hypocritical in the face of the hundreds of dead and injured innocent civilians killed with the direct approval or acquiescence of Mr. Arafat himself," Gillerman said.
"For how long will there be states among us who are willing to continue the charade of touting Mr. Arafat as a legitimate leader committed to the welfare of his people and peaceful relations with his neighbors. The ruin that Mr. Arafat has left behind in Jordan, in Lebanon, and in the West Bank testify that he has brought nothing but despair and devastation to his own people and to other people in the region."
"It would be a grave error if the Council were to come to the aid not of the victims of terrorism, but of their sponsor and perpetrator. The Council's focus should be directed first and foremost at terrorism and at its facilitators, and not at the response to terrorism. Pressure should be directed against the problem and not against those who are its victims, " he added.
The council began consultations on a resolution drafted by the Palestinians late Friday and then adjourned until today, despite Palestinian pressure for a quick vote.
Council ambassadors said they wanted to consult their capitals and wait for the outcome of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's meeting in Geneva on Saturday with the foreign ministers of the five permanent council nations - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
Russia considers that any attempt by Israel to remove Arafat would be counterproductive and could lead to a serious global crisis in the Mideast, Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said.
An attempt to kill Arafat could lead to "an immense and wide scale growth in the threat of terrorism," he said.
So far, the council has only issued a press statement saying "the removal of chairman Arafat would be unhelpful and should not be implemented." The statement, read by the council president, British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, reflected the consensus among the 15 council members.
The government is trying to persuade the United States to veto the resolution, Gillerman said, but at the moment it seems more likely Washington will abstain, allowing the resolution to pass. The United States has in the past vetoed resolutions that it has felt are too hard on Israel.
Israel has intensified its hunt for militants since an Aug. 19 bus bombing in which 23 people, including six children, were killed. After twin suicide bombing attacks last Tuesday, in which 15 people were murdered, the security cabinet decided to "remove" Arafat, calling him the major obstacle to peace.
"The fact that the Security Council remembers meet because of a decision to expel a person, who in everyone's opinion is a murderer and responsible for the wave of terrorism, and possibly for the worst terrorism in the 21st century, is a black mark," Gillerman said.
Eleven of the 15 Security Council nations voted in favor of the resolution and three abstained: Britain, Germany and Bulgaria.
Earlier Tuesday US officials said that they were not satisfied with a revised draft resolution demanding that the UN ensure the safety of Arafat, making a quick vote unlikely.
Syria had intended to push for a vote after a daylong open meeting on the Middle East Monday, but was persuaded by other council members to amend it and delay the vote for a day.
But US deputy ambassador James Cunningham told reporters Tuesday after seeing the new text that more consultations were needed.
"I don't think the revised text is any different from the previous text. Draw your own conclusions," he said. "I'm not sure it's going to come to a vote - or when it's going to come to a vote."
The resolution, drafted by Palestinian representative Nasser al-Kidwa, and sponsored by Syria, demands "that Israel, the occupying power, desist from any act of deportation and cease any threat to the safety of the elected president of the Palestinian Authority."
On Monday, diplomats from more than 40 countries took to the floor to condemn Israel's decision to remove Arafat. However, US Ambassador John Negroponte said Washington would veto the resolution in its present form because it does not condemn Palestinian terrorism and was "heavily biased" against Israel.
Addressing the council, UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed Larsen said the Middle East peace process has ground to a standstill and that more bloodshed is inevitable unless the road map can be quickly pushed forward.
Larsen criticized the Palestinians for failing to take advantage of a recent ceasefire to carry out security reforms including consolidation of security forces. He also criticized the Israeli decision on removing Arafat, as well as ongoing settlement activity.
In advance of the meeting, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman accused the Security Council of hypocrisy for considering the Palestinian resolution. Gillerman said the Security Council has met repeatedly to condemn Israeli actions, but ignores Palestinian suicide bombings and shooting attacks on Israelis.
As Gillerman was speaking, the Palestinian envoy to the UN Nasser al-Kidwa got up and left the discussion hall.
"High-minded rhetoric about the so-called legitimacy of Mr. Arafat's leadership and the illegitimacy of Israel's interference, are meaningless and hypocritical in the face of the hundreds of dead and injured innocent civilians killed with the direct approval or acquiescence of Mr. Arafat himself," Gillerman said.
"For how long will there be states among us who are willing to continue the charade of touting Mr. Arafat as a legitimate leader committed to the welfare of his people and peaceful relations with his neighbors. The ruin that Mr. Arafat has left behind in Jordan, in Lebanon, and in the West Bank testify that he has brought nothing but despair and devastation to his own people and to other people in the region."
"It would be a grave error if the Council were to come to the aid not of the victims of terrorism, but of their sponsor and perpetrator. The Council's focus should be directed first and foremost at terrorism and at its facilitators, and not at the response to terrorism. Pressure should be directed against the problem and not against those who are its victims, " he added.
The council began consultations on a resolution drafted by the Palestinians late Friday and then adjourned until today, despite Palestinian pressure for a quick vote.
Council ambassadors said they wanted to consult their capitals and wait for the outcome of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's meeting in Geneva on Saturday with the foreign ministers of the five permanent council nations - the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
Russia considers that any attempt by Israel to remove Arafat would be counterproductive and could lead to a serious global crisis in the Mideast, Deputy Foreign Minister Yuri Fedotov said.
An attempt to kill Arafat could lead to "an immense and wide scale growth in the threat of terrorism," he said.
So far, the council has only issued a press statement saying "the removal of chairman Arafat would be unhelpful and should not be implemented." The statement, read by the council president, British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, reflected the consensus among the 15 council members.
The government is trying to persuade the United States to veto the resolution, Gillerman said, but at the moment it seems more likely Washington will abstain, allowing the resolution to pass. The United States has in the past vetoed resolutions that it has felt are too hard on Israel.
Israel has intensified its hunt for militants since an Aug. 19 bus bombing in which 23 people, including six children, were killed. After twin suicide bombing attacks last Tuesday, in which 15 people were murdered, the security cabinet decided to "remove" Arafat, calling him the major obstacle to peace.
"The fact that the Security Council remembers meet because of a decision to expel a person, who in everyone's opinion is a murderer and responsible for the wave of terrorism, and possibly for the worst terrorism in the 21st century, is a black mark," Gillerman said.