US vetoes Israeli condemnation
2004-03-26 07:55
New York - The United States on Thursday vetoed a resolution condemning Israel's killing of Palestinian militant leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin at an unusually bitter meeting of the UN Security Council.
Israel traded angry barbs with the Palestinians and with council member Spain, bringing up this month's terror bombings on Madrid trains to denounce Spain's support of the resolution.
Three days of intense negotiations failed to win the support of the United States, which spiked the resolution because it made no mention of Yassin's Hamas militant group, responsible for scores of deadly attacks on Israel.
The vote was 11 in favour and the United States against. Three nations - Britain, Germany and Romania - abstained.
The measure was sponsored by lone Arab member Algeria, which said the council was sending the "wrong message" to the world.
Doomed to fail
"As if doomed to fail whenever it has to deal with the intractable situation of the Middle East, the Security Council has come to the conclusion once and for all that it has no say in the terrible tragedy that is unfolding," Algerian ambassador Abdallah Baali said.
Palestinian representative Nasser al-Kidwa said the international community, which has almost universally condemned the Israeli helicopter strike on Monday that killed Yassin outside a Gaza City mosque, would be shocked.
"There is no doubt that millions will be unable to understand what happened today," he said during an ill-tempered exchange after the vote.
Israeli ambassador Dan Gillerman took aim at his counterpart Inocencio Arias of Spain, staring him down and asking whether the Spanish government would have tried to kill the attackers who left 200 dead in March 11 bomb attacks in Madrid.
"If you knew before the bloody massacre of your citizens took place who was going to carry that horrendous act out, would you have sat still and let it happen?" Gillerman said.
Referring to the use of Palestinian children as suicide attackers, Gillerman said there could be no peace in the Middle East "until the Palestinians learn to love their children more than they hate us."
Full of racism
Kidwa retorted that Gillerman's comments were "full of racism" and added: "Israel is a terror group."
Gillerman replied that until Palestinians left behind the "wrong side" of the fight against terrorism, "They will sadly probably not be a member of the United Nations for a long time to come."
The US veto comes with Muslim rage at high pitch over the killing and could further complicate US plans in Iraq.
But ambassador John Negroponte of the United States said the "one-sided, unbalanced" resolution would not contribute to peace.
"The United States is deeply troubled by the killing of Sheikh Yassin. Israel's action has escalated tensions in Gaza and the region, and could set back our efforts to resume progress toward peace," he said.
"But events must be considered in their context."