December 29, 2008	Monday	Zilhaj 30, 1429

WASHINGTON, Dec 28: The UN Security Council on Sunday refrained from blaming Israel for the latest escalation of violence in Gaza and instead urged Israelis and the Palestinians to immediately end all violence.

Other UN agencies, however, recognised Israel as the aggressor and condemned it for a “disproportionate use of force” against the Palestinians.

“The members of the Security Council expressed serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza and called for an immediate halt to all violence,” said a statement issued after an emergency closed-door talks on Saturday night.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay, however, called on Israel to lift the air, sea and ground blockade imposed on Gaza, while voicing her grave concern about the escalating violence there and the enormous loss of life.

“While condemning the rocket attacks by Hamas that led to the death of one Israeli civilian, she also strongly condemned Israel’s disproportionate use of force resulting in the reported death of more than 270, a large number of which were civilians, and the wounding of over 600 persons,” said a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Ms Pillay called on Israeli leaders to uphold the principles of international humanitarian law, especially those relating to proportionality in the use of military force and the prevention of collective punishment and the targeting of civilians.

Likewise, UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories Richard Falk said the Israeli air strikes on Gaza represented “severe and massive violations” of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva Conventions.

UN General Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto also condemned the Israeli aggression. “The Israeli behaviour in bombarding Gaza is simply the commission of wanton aggression by a very powerful state against a territory that [it] illegally occupies,” said a statement issued by his office.

“The time has come to take firm action if the UN does not want to be rightly accused of complicity by omission,” he added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, however, was more careful. Voicing ‘deep alarm’ at unabated violence in a volatile region, Mr Ban urged both sides to show restraint. His statement highlighted “heavy violence and bloodshed in Gaza”, unleashed by the Israeli troops and “the continuation of violence in southern Israel”, instigated by the Hamas fighters.

The Security Council stressed the need for the restoration of calm “which will open the way for finding a political solution to the problems existing in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement”.

The Security Council stressed the need to address the serious humanitarian and economic crisis in Gaza. Without naming Israel, it emphasised the need to take necessary measures, including opening of border crossings, to ensure that the 1.5 million Palestinians living there could get food, fuel, medicine and other critical supplies that they needed.

The White House, however, was very clear on who to blame for the death of 280 Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes: Palestinian militant groups.

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said it were Hamas militants who caused the Israeli raids by attacking targets inside Israel. He said the US wanted to see a truce between Israel and Hamas restored, but that this could only be done if Palestinian fighters end their attacks.