VZCZCXRO7089
OO RUEHBC RUEHBZ RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUCNDT #2146/01 3172110
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 132110Z NOV 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0731
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 002146 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC
SUBJECT: U.S. VETOES DRAFT RESOLUTION ON ISRAEL ACTION IN 
GAZA 
 
 
¶1. The U.S. November 11 cast a no vote to veto an unbalanced 
Qatari-sponsored resolution on the situation in the Middle 
East, and specifically on casualties that resulted from a 
November 8 Israeli military operation shelling of Beit Hanoun 
in Gaza.  The final vote was 10-1(U.S.)-4(UK, Denmark, 
Slovakia and Japan). 
 
Ambassador Bolton's Statement 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. Ambassador Bolton delivered the U.S. explanation of vote 
(EOV): 
 
Begin Statement: 
 
Thank you, Mr. President.  This resolution does not display 
an even-handed characterization of the recent events in Gaza, 
nor does it advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace to 
which we aspire and for which we are working assiduously. 
 
We join our fellow Council members in deeply regretting the 
injuries and loss of life on November 8 in and around Beit 
Hanun.  We note the Israeli government has conducted an 
investigation and has announced its intent to suspend all 
artillery fire into Gaza as a result.  We hope it will be 
completed quickly and that appropriate steps will be taken to 
avoid a repetition of this tragedy. 
 
First, we are disturbed at language in the resolution that 
is, in many places, biased against Israel and politically 
motivated.  Such language does not further the cause of 
peace, and its unacceptability to the United States in 
previous resolutions, well-known.  Secondly, it remains an 
unbalanced text.  Among many such examples are the following: 
the preambular text equates Israeli military operations, 
which are legal, with firing of rockets into Israel, which 
are acts of terrorism.  Moreover, its characterization of 
Israeli military actions as "excessive and disproportionate" 
constitutes a legal judgment that the Security Council would 
be ill-advised to make.  Third, the proposed resolution calls 
for the establishment of a fact-finding mission which is, at 
this point, unnecessary and will do nothing to improve the 
situation on the ground.  The resolution further promises to 
consider the establishment of an "international mechanism for 
protection of the (Palestinian) civilian population" -- a 
promise which is unwise and unnecessary and, at any rate, 
raises false hopes. 
 
At the same time, we are disturbed that there is not a single 
reference to terrorism in the proposed resolution, nor any 
condemnation of the Hamas leadership's statement that 
Palestinians should resume terror attacks on a broad scale, 
or calls by the military wing of Hamas to Muslims worldwide 
to strike American targets and interests.  More terror, 
whether directed at Israel or the United States or the 
European Union Office in Gaza City is not the solution, nor 
will it enable the Palestinian people to achieve their 
aspirations. 
 
It is the responsibility of any Palestinian Authority 
government to prevent terror and take the necessary steps to 
stop attacks and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure. 
Hamas has failed utterly in this regard by continuing to play 
a role in perpetuating the instability and violence.  The 
Palestinian people deserve leaders who are prepared to 
renounce terror, accept the Quartet principles, and become a 
legitimate partner in peace. 
 
The United States remains committed to supporting a 
negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians.  The 
Road Map and the principles contained therein remain the only 
agreed international basis upon which to move forward towards 
the two-state goal. 
 
We call upon all members of the international community to 
support the Road Map unequivocally.  To that end the United 
States will vote no on this resolution. 
 
Other EOVs: UK, Slovakia, Denmark, Japan, Congo, Qatar 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶3.  The four countries that abstained -- UK, Slovakia, 
Denmark, and Japan -- all said they had done so either 
because the final text remained, after several negotiations, 
unbalanced and/or did not reflect the complexity of the 
situation on the ground.  Congo, which voted for the 
resolution, regretted the Security Council's failure to pass 
a resolution on the "crimes" that had occurred.  Qatar, which 
sponsored the resolution, said that the resolution, which had 
the support of the majority, had failed to pass for 
 
USUN NEW Y 00002146  002 OF 002 
 
 
well-known reasons.  Qatar said it had done its job in 
producing a balanced product and that its failure would call 
into question the credibility of the Security Council. 
 
Palestinian Statement 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. Invited to participate in the meeting, Palestinian 
Permanent Observer Riyad Mansour said the Security Council's 
rejection of the resolution had sent two wrong messages: for 
Israel, that they can continue to behave above international 
law; for the Palestinian people, that justice is not being 
dealt with in the proper way.  He said that the U.S. veto 
would push extremists on both sides to take matters into 
their own hands.  He concluded his remarks by saying that, on 
the second anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death, Palestinians 
would never lose faith in the principles enshrined in the UN 
Charter and that "we will continue to come to the Security 
Council and other bodies of the UN system until justice 
prevails." 
BOLTON