UN asks Israel to end siege: US abstains from Council voting
By Masood Haider
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24: The United Nations Security Council demanded on Tuesday that Israel end its siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah and withdraw its “occupying forces” to the position held prior to September 2,000.
Through a resolution adopted 14-0, with the United States abstaining, the council expressed alarm at the reoccupation of Palestinian cities as well as the severe restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of persons and goods, and its grave concern about the humanitarian crisis being faced by the Palestinian people.
The resolution adopted following hours of intense negotiations which continued through midnight also called on “the Palestinian Authority to meet its expressed commitment to ensure that those responsible for terrorist acts are brought to justice by it.”
The text was negotiated by Britain and France, which sponsored it along with Bulgaria, Ireland and Norway.
The United States called the resolution “flawed.”
In the past, the US had killed similar resolutions by using its veto power in the council. But, diplomats said, Washington decided against doing so in order not to alienate Arab opinion during its campaign against Iraq.
“The resolution that we’ve adopted this evening was flawed in our view in that it failed to explicitly condemn the terrorist groups and those who provide them with political cover, support and safe haven in perpetuating conflict in the Middle East,” US representative James Cunningham said.
Israeli forces wrecked Arafat’s headquarters complex in Ramallah in the West Bank last Thursday after two suicide bombings killed seven people in Israel in the past week and shattered a six-week lull in such attacks.
Representatives of about 44 nations spoke at the marathon debate in which speaker after speaker condemned Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, demanding that UN resolutions on Palestine be enforced.
“Why these double standards?” asked Yanya Mahmassani, representative of the Arab League. “Why are not the UN Security Council resolutions on Israel enforced the way they are on other countries?”
The council resolution also demanded the “expeditious withdrawal of Israeli occupying forces” from Palestinian cities toward positions held prior to September 2000, the date of a Palestinian uprising that has cost more than 2,000 lives.
The chief Palestinian observer at the UN, Nasser Al-Kidwa, accused Israel of defying three decades of council resolutions and asked the 15-nation body to “shoulder its responsibilities” and ensure that the UN resolutions were enforced.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned Israel at the start of Monday’s debate that its battering away at the Palestinian Authority was “a bankrupt policy” that bolstered extremists and would never end Middle East violence.
The following is the text of a UN Security Council resolution adopted on Tuesday by a 14-0 vote:
REAFFIRMING its resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 1397 (2002), 1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002), as well as the statements of its President of 10 April 2002 and 18 July 2002,
REITERATING its grave concern at the tragic and violent events that have taken place since September 2000 and the continuous deterioration of the situation,
CONDEMNING all terrorist attacks against any civilians, including the terrorist bombings in Israel on 18 and 19 September 2002 and in a Palestinian school in Hebron on 17 September 2002,
GRAVELY CONCERNED at the reoccupation of the headquarters of the President of the Palestinian Authority in the City of Ramallah that took place on 19 September 2002 and demanding its immediate end,
ALARMED at the reoccupation of Palestinian cities as well as the severe restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of persons and goods, and GRAVELY CONCERNED at the humanitarian crisis being faced by the Palestinian people,
REITERATING the need for respect in all circumstances of international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilian persons in time of war of 12 August 1949,
1. REITERATES its demand for the complete cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction;
2. DEMANDS that Israel immediately cease measures in and around Ramallah, including the destruction of Palestinian civilian and security infrastructure;
3. DEMANDS ALSO the expeditious withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities towards return to the positions held prior to September 2000;
4. CALLS ON the Palestinian Authority to meet its expressed commitment to ensure that those responsible for terrorist acts are brought to justice by it;
5. EXPRESSES its full support for the efforts of the Quartet and calls upon the Government of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and all States in the region to cooperate with these efforts and recognizes in this context the continuing importance of the initiative endorsed at the Arab League Beirut Summit;
