[news] UN surges to Arafats defence

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Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2003 20:15:44 -0700
From: shniad at sfu.ca
To: shniad at sfu.ca
Subject: [pr-x] UN surges to Arafats defence

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1046130,00.html

The Guardian   September 20, 2003

UN surges to Arafat’s defence

General assembly's condemnation of Israel's threat to eject Palestinian
leader leaves US exposed

Duncan Campbell in Los Angeles

The UN demanded that Israel drop its threat to remove the Palestinian
leader, Yasser Arafat, by an overwhelmingly majority yesterday, thus
isolating Israel and the US.

The general assembly voted 133-4 the day after President Bush blamed Mr
Arafat for undermining the current round of peace negotiations, which have
been stalled by renewed violence.

The resolution condemned Israel for threatening to remove Mr Arafat, but
also the Palestinian suicide bombings. Despite this even-handedness, the US
and Israel voted against, supported by Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.


The resolution, though non-binding, served as a reminder of the isolated US
position on the Middle East.

Earlier this week, it vetoed a similar resolution in the security council,
saying that while it did not support removal of Mr Arafat it would not back
wording that did not also condemn terror groups by name.

Last night it offered the same reason.

Its ambassador, John Negroponte, said the motion was unbalanced and omitted
specific mention of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in
its condemnation of suicide bombing.

Israel said earlier this month that it wanted to remove Mr Arafat from the
Middle East equation, one cabinet minister going so far as to suggest that
he might be killed.

The general assembly resolution attacks Israel's policy of "extrajudicial
killings and their recent escalation", and condemns "the suicide bombings
and their recent intensification". It urges the Palestinian Authority to
"take all necessary measures to end violence and terror".

The authority's UN representative, Nasser al-Kidwa, said that Palestinians
faced an increasingly oppressive military power and called the threats to Mr
Arafat "insane".

He added: "We have been very clear in our condemnation of actions committed
by Palestinian groups in contravention of international law, specifically
the suicide bombings that have targeted civilians in Israel."

On Thursday, Mr Bush criticised Mr Arafat for undercutting the road map to
peace.






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