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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: AK2004 who wrote (576814)	5/19/2004 7:26:01 PM
From: Paul van Wijk	Respond to of 769670

14-0 UN Council Votes Against Israel Demolition UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday calling on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinian homes following widespread bulldozing in the Gaza Strip. The United States abstained on the measure, approved by the other 14 council members, after negotiations with Algeria, representing Arab nations. The final text was watered down to prevent a veto from Washington, Israel's closest ally, diplomats said. The resolution calls on Israel to respect its obligations under international law and insists "on its obligation not to undertake demolition of homes contrary to that law." The measure, which also calls for an end to violence, expresses "grave concern" about the humanitarian situation of Palestinians made homeless in the Rafah refugee camp near the Egyptian border. The United Nations says the demolitions threw some 1,600 people out of their homes. Israel says the bulldozing is necessary to hit militants and clear houses it says serve as gun nests. The resolution came after an international outcry against both the demolition and the killings of more than 30 people in the past two days near the Rafah refugee camp on the Egyptian border. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the shootings of peaceful demonstrators and said he talked to Secretary of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. national security adviser, to see what could be done to control the violence. He called on "Israel to immediately halt the military operations." James Cunningham, the deputy U.S. ambassador, said that while Israel had the right to defend itself and its citizens "we do not see that its operations in Gaza in the last few days serve the purposes of peace and security." "They have worsened the humanitarian situation and resulted in confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians and have not, we believe, enhanced Israel's security," Cunningham told the council. But Cunningham said he could not vote in favor of the resolution because it did not address the context of the violence. "It is clear that Palestinian terrorists have been smuggling weapons into Gaza through tunnels in Rafah," he said. "It is clear that the Palestinian Authority has not taken serious action to address this threat or to put an end to terrorist acts." Palestinian U.N. observer Nasser al-Kidwa told reporters earlier that "this resolution is about the crime that is taking place in the area of Rafah." He accused Israel of planning to build "a big prison" among the 1.3 million Palestinians in Gaza and cut off its borders to Egypt. reuters.com