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US pressures UN to condemn Hizbullah
Following intense US pressure, the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday issued an unprecedented condemnation of Monday's Hizbullah attacks on northern Israel.
This condemnation - slamming Hizbullah by name for "acts of hatred" - marked the first time the Security Council has ever reprimanded Hizbullah for cross-border attacks on Israel. The condemnation followed by two days a failed attempt to get a condemnation issued on Monday, the day of the attack, when Algeria came out against any mention of Hizbullah in the statement.
When asked what changed from Monday to Wednesday, one diplomatic official replied: "John Bolton," a reference to the US ambassador to the UN. Bolton lobbied vigorously for the passage of the statement.
The condemnation expressed "deep concern" over the attack, and called on Lebanon to exercise its sovereignty and authority in the south according to relevant Security Council resolutions.
Security Council Resolution 1559, which led to the withdrawal earlier this year of Syrian troops from Lebanon, also calls for the dismantling of the militias in the country, as well as a call to the Lebanese government to extend its control over the entire country, including the Hizbullah dominated south.
Israeli officials expressed satisfaction that the statement did not include any attempt to "balance it," referring to Israel's response to the Hizbullah attack, and that for the first time ever it placed full responsibility for the violence on Hizbullah's shoulders.
Roni Leshno Ya'ar, the Foreign Ministry's deputy director- general who heads its UN and international organizations division, termed the condemnation a "Security Council warning to Hizbullah to stop its provocations on the northern border."
Leshno Ya'ar said this type of condemnation was significant because Hizbullah was "very sensitive" to public opinion, both in Lebanon and abroad. He said the condemnation sent a strong signal that the Security Council was demonstrating "no tolerance toward terrorism."
The statement against Hizbullah came just a few weeks after the Security Council condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his call to wipe Israel off the map. That was also a precedent-setting condemnation, marking the first time the UN body ever condemned an Islamic state for statements against Israel.
UN Council criticizes Lebanon-Israel border clash
23 Nov 2005 20:36:56 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Evelyn Leopold
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The Security Council, after three days of deliberation, on Wednesday expressed "deep concern" over border fighting between Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas and Israeli forces and said Hizbollah started it.
After prodding by the United States, the Council statement deleted any reference to Israel by name.That's right, only because of US pressure would the UN place blame where is belongs. :clap1:
"I wanted to underline the importance of saying expressly that it was Hizbollah that initiated the attack," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters.
Pro-Syrian Hizbollah guerrillas on Monday raided northern Israel in an unsuccessful attempt to capture Israeli troops, triggering the worst round of fighting since Israel pulled out of south Lebanon five years ago. Four Hizbollah fighters were killed in addition to injuries on both sides.
On Wednesday, Israeli troops exchanged fire with Hizbollah across the Lebanese border to provide cover for an Israeli paraglider pilot who drifted into Lebanon by accident. Lebanese witnesses said Hizbollah tried to capture him but were thwarted by heavy machinegun fire from the Israeli side.
A Security Council statement drafted by France on Monday would have condemned "military exchanges initiated by Hizbollah" as well as Israeli violations of Lebanese air space.
The United States wanted the reference to Israel dropped and Algeria, the only Arab member of the council, objected to pinning the blame on Hizbollah, diplomats said.
In the end, members of the Security Council expressed "deep concern about the hostilities, which were initiated by Hizbollah"
"They appealed to all parties to respect the (boundary) in its entirety, to exercise utmost restraint and to refrain from any action that could further escalate the situation."
The statement also called on the Lebanese government "to extend its authority and to exert its monopoly over the use of force all over its territory."
The Beirut government has been unable to disarm Hizbollah as demanded by U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004. Yeah, right.
In a separate action, Israel's U.N. ambassador Dan Gillerman said that Israel had known for a few weeks that Hizbollah was planning an attack in northern Israel and had notified the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL.
"UNIFIL had information about these attacks but took no action to stop them," Gillerman said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the General Assembly and the Security Council. There was no immediate response from the United Nations. Perhaps the UN should be condemned? Oh yeah!
