Lebanon prevents UN condemnation of terror attack
Security Council member Lebanon thwarts condemnation of Thursday’s terror offensive that left eight Israelis dead; UN envoy Prosor: Lebanon itself a terror state, UN blind and deaf in face of anti-Israel terror
Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Prosor expressed his disappointment with Beirut’s move, noting that Lebanon is itself “a state controlled by a terrorist organization.”
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The UN envoy said that the latest fiasco proved that the UN has become “blind and deaf” when it comes to condemning terror attacks against Israeli citizens.
“The Security Council’s silence is deafening,” Prosor said.
Lebanon demands 'balance'
A draft proposal for a presidential statement was distributed to the Security Council’s 15 members Thursday. The United States, Europe and India vigorously supported a harsh UN denunciation of the murderous attack in Israel, yet the Arab representative in the Council, Lebanon, announced Friday that it will endorse such censure only if it is “balanced” with a condemnation of Israel’s retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip.
Europe, the US and Israel rejected the Lebanese equation, in essence burying the condemnation and demonstrating yet again that the UN is unable to address some of the most vital issues on its agenda.
Referring to the UN failure to condemn the terror offensive, Ambassador Prosor said that “we are dealing with a blatantly clear terror attack against innocent Israeli civilians.”
“The UN secretary general condemned it, the Americans condemned it, the European Union condemned it, yet the bottom line is that the Security Council again failed as a body,” he said. “Every time an issue pertains to Israel, we see deafening silence. They become blind and deaf.”
'Israel commits war crimes'
While the UN refrained from condemning Thursday’s string of terror attacks in Israel, which left eight people dead, Palestinian spokesmen were quick to issue scathing condemnations of Israel’s retaliatory operations in the Gaza Strip.On Friday, Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath accused Israel of committing war crimes in the Strip and seeking to escalate regional tensions.
"Israel's madness will not deter the Palestinian leadership from appealing to the UN,” he said. In a press release, Shaath alleged that Israel was looking for an excuse to impose collective punishment against the Palestinian people, saying: "This is a war crime.”
Later Friday, Hamas’ military wing also condemned what it referred to as an Israeli “massacre,” announcing that the lull which prevailed in the Gaza region for the last few months is now over.
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