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The US vetoed a UNSC resolution that would harm Israel’s security as member countries refused to condemn Hamas for their attacks on the Jewish state.
By: United with Israel Staff and AP
The US blocked an attempt to harm Israel’s security through the United Nations (UN) on Friday and vetoed a resolution submitted to the Security Council that called for “international protection” for the Palestinian people.
The resolution, proposed by Kuwait, a non-permanent member of the council, called for UN Secretary-General António Guterres to submit a report within 60 days on ways to ensure “the safety, protection and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation,” including recommendations about “an international protection mechanism.”
It “deplored” the recent rocket barrage on Israel without specifying who was behind the attack, though Hamas and other Islamic terror group have openly claimed responsibility.
China, France, and Russia were among the countries that supported the Kuwaiti resolution, with four countries—the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, the Netherlands and Poland—abstaining.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley called the Kuwaiti resolution “grossly one-sided” for not mentioning the Hamas terror group and was “wildly inaccurate in its characterization of recent events in Gaza” by solely condemning Israel for the violence.
The UNSC then voted down a US-written resolution condemning Hamas over the recent escalation of violence in Gaza. The American resolution demanded that Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups cease “all violent activity and provocative actions” in Gaza.
“This resolution rightly places responsibility where it belongs,” Haley said. But some other council members, including Russia, said the US measure was not “evenhanded.”
Danon: ‘Double Standard Against Israel Will Not Stand’
The diplomatic exchange of fire at the UNSC occurred just days after the Palestinian terror groups fired over 100 projectiles at Israeli civilian targets over the course of 22 hours, the worst bombardment Israel has experienced since Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.
After the UNSC session, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon stated that “the rules of the game are changing in the Security Council. The double standard against Israel will not stand.”
He dismissed that Kuwaiti resolution as “a hypocritical resolution that sought to condemn Israel while failing to even mention the terrorists of Hamas as the root cause of violence and unrest in our region.”
“When Paris was attacked by ISIS, the international community stood with Paris. But when Israel is attacked by Hamas, you blame us, the victim,” he stated.
He thanked the US for vetoing the resolution and commended all the Council members who refused to support it, and by doing so “defended Israel’s right to defend our citizens.”
On the UNSC’s rejection of the US resolution, Danon underscored that “peace and stability will come to our region only when the international community is brave enough to call out the terrorists by name.”
“By proposing this resolution, the US made clear that the rules of the game are changing in the Security Council and that the double standard against Israel will not stand,” he added.
Shame on France
In his address at the UNSC, Danon charged that “despite the rockets fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad at our civilians, despite the missile that landed in a kindergarten yard, despite the endless mortar shells attacking our southern communities, this resolution tried to give Hamas a free pass… It mentioned Israel five times, yet it could not even mention Hamas at all.”
Turning to the countries that supported Kuwait’s resolution, Danon asked the ambassadors of France and Sweden: “Why did you omit Hamas from this resolution? Did you forget that the EU has designated Hamas a terrorist organization since 2003? Does that designation mean nothing to you?”
“The only way to protect the Palestinians in Gaza is by holding Hamas responsible. Those who supported this resolution, you chose not to protect these Palestinians. Those who did not support the resolution, you voted for justice. You are the ones who really voted for the protection of Israelis and Palestinians,” Danon concluded.
Israel’s Deputy Minister for Diplomacy and former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren took to Twitter and assailed France for its vote against Israel.
“Praise for the US for vetoing Security Council resolution on Gaza that didn’t mention Hamas and condemned the IDF for defending Israel. Shame on France for supporting it. French government cannot say it’s against anti-Semitism and vote for this anti-Semitic resolution,” he tweeted.
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