December 16, 2001	Sunday	Ramazan 30, 1422

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UNITED NATIONS, Dec 15: Using its veto power the United States on Saturday killed an Arab sponsored UN resolution that condemned ‘acts of terror” against Israelis and Palestinians.

US Ambassador John Negroponte said wording in the Palestinian-backed resolution was aimed at isolating Israel politically.

The vote in the 15-member council was 12 to 1 with 2 abstentions, Britain and Norway. The other two Europeans on the council, France and Ireland were among the “yes” votes.

The vote followed dozens of speeches by delegates of several countries who admonished the excessive use of force by Israel in the conflict.

In the 15 member Security Council five permanent members —US, China, Russia, France and Britain — have veto powers the 10 rotating non-permanent members do not enjoy such power.

The US veto was the second this year on a Palestinian-backed resolution. In March, Washington killed a tougher measure that called for an international observer force, which Israel opposes.

The resolution, sponsored by Egypt and Tunisia and amended by France, encouraged “all concerned to establish a monitoring mechanism” to help ease conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. It condemned all terrorist acts, executions without trial, excessive use of force and the destruction of property.

US Ambassador Negroponte said it was fundamentally flawed because it did not even mention “recent acts of terrorism” against Israelis or those responsible for them. On Dec 1, Palestinian suicide attacks killed 26 in Jerusalem and Haifa.

The resolution sought to bolster Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat days after Israel severed ties with him and branded him “irrelevant” in response to the spate of attacks on Israelis this month. It said the Palestinian Authority remained “the indispensable and legitimate party for peace.”

The break with Arafat on Thursday, a day after Palestinian militants ambushed a bus in the West Bank and killed 10 Israelis, further evaporating hopes for a negotiated end to the bloodshed. On Friday, the Israeli army killed eight Palestinians.

Palestinian UN observer Nasser Al-Kidwa said cutting off Arafat threatened to plunge the region into war.

“This decision means the abandonment of the negotiation process,” Al-Kidwa said, adding he feared Israel wanted to roll back on autonomy and security agreements made during the Oslo negotiation process that began in 1993.

Pointedly referring to the United States, he asked “whether this council is being used by some only when it’s useful to them.”

Several speakers participating in the day-long debate which ended in the wee hours of the morning admonished Israel for using excessive force against Palestinians.

Israel said it believed the conflict was not about occupation but about the Jewish state’s right to exist.

Israeli delegate Aaron Jacob said there was an “ever-diminishing window of opportunity” to salvage peace negotiations if Palestinians entered direct bilateral talks with Israel and crushed militant groups like Hamas.

Britain said it abstained because the text did not reflect the realities on ground, did not specify a next step for a resumption of meaningful negotiations nor define responsibility which both sides must accept to end violence.

“We urge Israel and the Palestinian Authority to pull back from the brink and work together to end violence,” British Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock said. “It serves no one’s interest to undermine President Arafat or to weaken the Palestinian Authority.”