The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging an immediate end to all acts of violence by Israelis and Palestinians. (Sources: BBC World and Haaretz).
The resolution calls for an immediate end of Israeli incursions in Gaza and Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. It also calls for an immediate investigation into the recent Beit Hanun shelling, where a few misfired shells killed 19 Palestinians, to be set up by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The investigation is likely to be headed by former US president Jimmy Carter. There is no mention of the Hamas-led abduction of Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit.
Published November 12th, 2006
in Middle East, Israel & Palestine and Opinion.
Many of our friends in Europe and the Arab world would have us believe that Hamas is a modern, respectable party. That they won their landslide victory in the Palestinian elections last January due to their plans to fight corruption and improve health care and education. Our friends continue to say that they are the legally elected governing party of the Palestinians and that the United States and Israel are monsters for not throwing billions of dollars at them.
Published November 12th, 2006
in Middle East and Israel & Palestine.
From the Associated Press:
Hamas’ military wing called Wednesday on Muslims around the world to attack American targets following reports that an Israeli tank strike killed 18 people in the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun
The Hamas-led Palestinian government distanced itself from the call, saying its fight was with Israel.
Hamas militants have historically directed their suicide bombings and rocket attacks only against Israeli targets.
“America is offering political, financial and logistic cover for the Zionist occupation crimes, and it is responsible for the Beit Hanoun massacre. Therefore, the people and the nation all over the globe are required to teach the American enemy tough lessons,” Hamas’ military wing said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
The United States tonight vetoed a United Nations Security Council Resolution condemning the IDF ‘massacre’ at Beit Hanoun - an incident last wednesday that killed 19 Palestinians, calling for Israel to immediately withdraw all forces from the Gaza Strip and for UN observers to be deployed in the area.
The resolution, proposed by Qatar, called for an “immediate investigation into the massacre that took place in Beit Hanoun” and for Israel to “cease all violence against the civilian population in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem.” In a last-minute effort to avoid a US-veto, Qatar changed some of the language in the resolution - including dropping the word ‘massacre’.
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