UNITED NATIONS: Jordan bitterly attacked Israel policy towards the Arab states yesterday [July 26] in a continuing Security Council debate on charges of aggression exchanged by Syria and Jordan.

Israel’s delegate immediately charged that his Jordanian counterpart had become a party to the dispute and said he had disqualified himself from voting on the substance of the issue.

Syria and Israel have charged each other with aggression following an Israeli air attack on Syrian engineering installations in the Sea of Galilee area on July 14.

The Jordanian delegate, Dr Muhammad el-Ferra, said yesterday that the time had come for the Council “to go beyond mere condemnation” of Israel.

“We, the members of this Council, are facing a real challenge,” he said. “Are we to permit Israel unilaterally to upset all arrangements of the Security Council and its machinery, or are we to uphold the armistice agreement and thus uphold an effective international authority in the area?”

Israeli delegate Michael Comay invited the Council members to “judge the degree of impartiality that is involved in such an attitude”.

Mr Kadhim Khalaf of Iraq, taking part in the debate as an interested party, said Mr Comay had come to the Council “as the South African representative of people from all corners of the world”.

Mr Comay is of South African origin. The Iraqi delegate asserted that Mr Comay had “come here to defend apartheid in Israel against the Arabs”.

Khalaf criticised Western nations for their military assistance to Israel and said any such assistance to an aggressor was bound to increase his appetite for conquests and exploits.

Council President Chief S.O. Adebo of Nigeria said that a report on the Galilee situation, from officials on the spot, was expected this evening [July 27] or Thursday morning.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2016