with all the rhetoric from Bush about making the world safe, restoring respect for UN authority, then something like this happens... makes me so friggin' depressed. This is like the Nth time that the US faced a humiliating 14-0 vote in the Security Council over Israel. And the umpteenth time Israel has blatantly ignored it. If the vast majority of the UN General Assembly, if the vast majority of our own Allies, if the POPE HIMSELF, weighs in against the Israeli cause, doesn't it make you wonder whether we're on the right side of this conflict... It sure as HELL makes me a bit squeamish... Isn't Israel a nuclear state? Isn't it true that NO NUCLEAR STATES HAVE EVER BEEN INVADED? Why can't Israel just be a chum (or shall we say a responsible international state) and friggin' DO AS THE UN ASKS? Withdraw from occupied territories. Recognise the Palestinian state. That's what we're asking Iraq to do (implement UN resolutions). Why the double standard? -------------------------- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2278700.stm Tuesday, 24 September, 2002, 20:20 GMT 21:20 UK Israel rejects 'biased' resolution Israel has dismissed a United Nations resolution calling for it to end its military operations around Ramallah in the West Bank, where it is besieging Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The resolution, passed by the UN Security Council early on Tuesday, also called for Israeli forces to withdraw from all other Palestinian towns. It came as a new military incursion into Gaza City left nine Palestinians dead. Meanwhile US President George W Bush has repeated his criticism of Israel's military crackdown, saying it was "unhelpful". Israeli officials described the UN resolution as "unbalanced," and appear set to ignore the withdrawal calls. Operations to intensify Foreign ministry spokesman Mark Sofer said what was needed first was an end to terror. And political sources quoted by Israeli state radio said that military operations, including the Ramallah siege, would continue and "gradually intensify" in the Gaza Strip specifically. The chorus of international criticism directed at Israel has continued to grow louder. Pope John Paul's spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, said the pontiff was worried by the "grave situation," and urged an end to the Ramallah siege. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon should "suspend such actions that compromise the already faint hopes of peace in the region," said Mr Navarro-Valls. US shift? And French President Jacques Chirac said he was "dismayed" at the way the crisis was developing. "I believe these methods will achieve nothing," he said. Israel's main ally, the US, failed to follow its usual policy of vetoing or voting against Security Council resolutions criticising Israel, choosing instead to abstain. Mr Bush defended this decision, saying the abstention should send a message to all parties that they had to stay on the path of peace by working to reform Palestinian institutions. The BBC's Jim Fish in Jerusalem says Palestinians take heart from what they see as a shift in the American position, following its rare criticism on Monday of the Ramallah siege. The UN resolution has been welcomed by the Palestinian leadership as a "step in the right direction". A spokesman said the US abstention was a "clear criticism of Israel". The resolution, brokered by European states, calls for: Israel to "immediately cease measures in and around Ramallah, including the destruction of Palestinian civilian and security infrastructure" The "expeditious withdrawal of Israeli occupying forces" from Palestinian cities toward positions held prior to September 2000 The "complete cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction". However, senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said resolutions alone were not enough. "We need to see such resolutions implemented," he said. The BBC's Greg Barrow says the 14-hour debate, which covered four different draft resolutions, reflected the disunity among members. Our correspondent says that Arab states have raised what they regard as double standards in the Security Council's dealings. Israel, they argue, is allowed to flout successive UN resolutions while other nations like Iraq are being held to account for their non-compliance. Israel justified its incursion into Gaza as a response to recent attacks on Jewish settlements. Bulldozers backed by tanks advanced into a number of areas of Gaza, meeting heavy resistance, the Israeli army said. The Israelis say they destroyed 13 workshops used for making weapons. Gaza hospital staff said nine Palestinians were killed and 24 injured.
