By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East
NEW YORK CITY, United States – On December 31, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting at the request of the Arab League to discuss Israeli operations in Gaza. The Security Council envoys began with closed-door consultations but then moved into a formal public meeting. During the meeting, Libya, the only Arab state on the Security Council, presented a resolution drafted by the Arab League earlier that day.
The draft resolution “strongly condemns all military attacks and the excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel, the occupying power, which have led to the death and injury of scores of innocent Palestinian civilians, including women and children.” It also calls for “an immediate ceasefire and for its full respect by both sides.”
Additionally, the draft resolution calls on Israel “to scrupulously abide by all of its obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly under the Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilians in time of war.” Specifically, it calls “for the immediate and sustained opening of the border crossings of the Gaza Strip,” and the resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to its population.
AFP reports that the language in the draft resolution has been amended since the initial version was released to the press in Cairo. The initial version characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as “barbaric aggression” and as “collective punishment” of the Palestinian people.
However, the Security Council meeting adjourned without a vote on the draft resolution. Since the it did not mention the rockets being fired by Hamas, British and US ambassadors said the draft resolution seemed too partial.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad stated, “This resolution as currently circulated by Libya is not balanced and therefore, as currently drafted, it is not acceptable to the United States.” Britain’s UN Ambassador, John Sawers, added “any resolution will need to reflect the responsibilities of all parties…There is no mention so far of the rocket attacks that have triggered the Israeli offensive.”
During the emergency meeting, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian permanent observer, called on the Security Council to take strong and urgent action. He said, “Our children in the Gaza Strip today and their mothers are looking up to you to stop this barbarian aggression and to protect them from this criminality, this forced hunger and this deliberate killing.”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gabriela Shalevl, told the Security Council that Israel will continue its operation in Gaza as long as it needs to and will defend its citizens against terror. In a statement during the emergency meeting, Shalevl said that Israeli citizens will not be “ducks on a shooting range.”
For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – UN Divided on Gaza Resolution – 1 January 2009
BBC – UN Fails to Make Progress on Gaza – 1 January 2009
International Herald Tribune – Arabs Want UN Resolution to Halt Gaza Attacks – 1 January 2009
Yedioth – Israel to UN: We’ll Continue Gaza Op – 1 January 2009
AFP – UN Security Council Takes Up Arab Resolution on Gaza – 31 December 2008
Reuters – UN Security Council Meet on Gaza Violence – 31 December 2008
