UN Security Council criticizes Israel

By Christian Fahrenbach

New York (dpa) — Israel came under fire in the U.N. Security Council on Sunday for its planned further military action in the Gaza Strip.

“We condemn the Government of Israel’s decision to further expand its military operations in Gaza,” the five European states attending Sunday’s special session said in a joint statement.

“We call on Israel to urgently reverse this decision and not to implement it,” Slovenian U.N. Ambassador Samuel Zbogar said before the start of the meeting.

“And we reiterate that any attempts at annexation or of settlement extension violate international law,” he added. “Expanding military operations will only endanger the lives of all civilians in Gaza, including the remaining hostages.”

The Palestinian U.N. ambassador, Riad Mansur, accused Israel’s government of ignoring the opinions of the Security Council.

Therefore, other countries must now follow up the “justified condemnation” of Israel with “just action,” Mansur asserted.

Mansur also called for the expansion of food and medical supplies, the release of Hamas hostages, Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and an international security mission to protect the people of Palestine.

Israel’s U.N. ambassador Brett Jonathan Miller rejected criticism of the Israeli government’s plans.

“This is not conquest. Israel has no plans or desire to permanently occupy Gaza. This is liberation from a brutal terror regime,” Miller said.

The Israeli Security Cabinet under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided on Friday that the military should take over Gaza City — possibly with the aim of taking control of the entire Gaza Strip.

During the meeting, participants described the situation in the coastal area in often dramatic terms.

Ramesh Rajasingham with the U.N. humanitarian office OCHA said that Gaza is in ruins and almost everyone has been unjustly displaced from their homes in the past two years.

The United States sided with Israel in the meeting. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea charged that the meeting was being wrongly used to accuse Israel of genocide.

She dismissed the accusations as politically motivated and categorically false, and spoke of a “propaganda campaign” by Hamas.