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Photo: Reuters
Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam
Photo: Reuters

Lebanon PM: UN vote over Israeli compensation 'victory'

PM Salam lauds decision asking Israeli to pay Lebanon over $850 million in damages for 2006 oil spill, expresses hope vote will be followed by more charges against Israel for 'war crimes'.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam lauded on Sunday the UN General Assembly resolution asking Israel to pay Lebanon over $850 million in damages for an oil spill caused by an Israel Air Force attack on oil storage tanks during its war with Hezbollah in July 2006, the Lebanese newspaper Daily Star reported.

 

 

A day after the assembly voted 170-6 in favor of the resolution, the newspaper cited Salam as saying that the news was a “huge political and diplomatic victory for Lebanon.”

 

Lebanese PM: 'We congratulate all the Lebanese for this achievement' (Photo: Reuters) (Photo: Reuters)
Lebanese PM: 'We congratulate all the Lebanese for this achievement' (Photo: Reuters)

 

The resolution says "the environmental disaster" caused by the destruction of the tanks resulted in an oil slick that covered the entire Lebanese coastline and extended to the Syrian coastline, causing extensive pollution.

 

“We congratulate all the Lebanese for this achievement that came as the fruit of persistent efforts over the years by the Lebanese diplomacy represented by our permanent delegation at the UN,” the report further quoted Salam as saying.

 

The Lebanese prime minister expressed his hopes that the UN vote will be followed by more charges from the international community against Israel for its "war crimes".

 

“Lebanon calls on the international community to force Israel to stop its various violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and to cooperate with the peacekeeping troops to demarcate what is left of the borders and retreat from the Shebaa Farms, Kfarshouba Hills and the north of the Ghajar village,” Salam reportedly said.

 

Israel's UN Mission said in a statement late Friday that the resolution is biased against Israel.

 

The UN General Assembly (Photo: AP) (Photo: AP)
The UN General Assembly (Photo: AP)

 

"Israel Immediately responded to the oil slick incident by cooperating closely with the United Nations Environment Program, as well as other UN agencies and NGOs, addressing the environmental situation along the coast of Lebanon," the statement reads. "This resolution has long outlived the effects of the oil slick, and serves no purpose other than to contribute to institutionalizing an anti-Israel agenda at the UN."

 

The assembly acknowledged the conclusions in an August report by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that studies show the value of damage to Lebanon amounted to $856.4 million in 2014. It asked Israel to provide "prompt and adequate compensation."

 

The assembly also asked Ban to urge UN bodies and other organizations involved in the initial assessment to conduct a further study, building on the work conducted by the World Bank, to measure and quantify the environmental damage sustained by neighboring countries.

 

The resolution notes that "the secretary-general expressed grave concern at the lack of any acknowledgment on the part of the government of Israel of its responsibilities vis-a-vis reparations and compensation" to Lebanon and Syria for the oil spill.

 

IAF strike in Beirut during Second Lebanon War (Photo: AP) (Photo: AP)
IAF strike in Beirut during Second Lebanon War (Photo: AP)

 

It notes that Ban concluded that the spill is not covered by any international oil spill compensation funds and therefore recognizes "that further consideration needs to be given to the option of security the relevant compensation from the government of Israel."

 

Lebanon's UN Ambassador Nawaf Salam said his country considers the resolution to be "major progress" because it puts forward a figure for compensation, acknowledges the conclusions of the secretary-general's report, and reaffirms the General Assembly's commitment to justice.

 

"We affirm that Lebanon will continue to mobilize all resources and resort to all legal means to see that this resolution is fully implemented, and that the specified compensation is paid promptly."

 

Associated Press contributed to this report.

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.21.14, 13:25
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