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US blocks Yassin condemnation
24/03/2004 08:20 - (SA)
United Nations - Israel defended its killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin before the UN Security Council, calling him a "godfather of terrorism" as the Palestinians pushed for a resolution condemning his death.
The United States, meanwhile, said on Tuesday it would oppose any resolution that ignored Yassin's role in terrorism.
Yassin, the bearded, quadriplegic spiritual leader of Hamas, was killed early on Monday in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City. He is the highest-ranking figure killed in an Israeli campaign of "targeted killings" against militant leaders.
On Tuesday the chief Palestinian delegate, Nasser al-Kidwa, called Yassin's killing a "war crime" and said the United Nations should view Israel as an illegal occupier of Palestinian lands, not an innocent victim of terrorism.
The United States and Algeria, the only Arab nation on the Security Council, failed earlier on Tuesday to agree on a statement that would have had the president of the Security Council condemn the killing. The United States insisted on language in the document that would have condemned recent terrorist activities by Hamas, US Ambassador John Negroponte said.
Algerian Ambassador Abdullah Baali said his country would wait until Wednesday to decide about submitting a Palestinian-backed resolution, possibly forcing a US veto.
"We have not yet made a decision on whether to corner the United States," Baali said on the sidelines of Tuesday night's Security Council meeting. Some 40 countries were expected to speak at the meeting.
In their remarks to the Security Council, both the Palestinians and the Israelis accused other countries of coddling the other side.
Aggressive, occupying power
"Israel has completely destroyed the lives of the Palestinian people," al-Kidwa said. "Israel is an aggressive, occupying power and is not a country that is defending itself."
The Israeli ambassador, Dan Gillerman, criticised the Security Council for convening "not to honour the memory of the hundreds murdered by (terrorism), but to come to the defence of one of its prime perpetrators, a godfather of terrorism.
"As long as we pretend that the response to terrorism is more serious than the terrorism itself, we only invite more of it," Gillerman said.
Negroponte noted that Yassin opposed the UN-backed "road map" plan, which calls for a separate Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel.
Preached hatred
"He preached hatred and glorified suicide bombings of buses, restaurants and cafes," Negroponte said. "This Security Council should not, and the United States will not, support initiatives which ignore this reality."
In Geneva meanwhile, the top UN human rights body decided on Tuesday to hold Israel to account for its killing of Yassin.
The 53-nation UN Human Rights Commission mustered 34 votes in favour of the resolution. The United States, Australia and Eritrea voted against. Fourteen countries, mostly from Europe, abstained.
If the commission decides to condemn Israel's actions, the country will face no penalties. Censure by the UN body simply draws attention to a country's human rights record.
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