VZCZCXRO4423
OO RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUCNDT #0085 0292230
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 292230Z JAN 08
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3622
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE 1793
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PTER KPAL KWBG UNSC IS
SUBJECT: GAZA: SECURITY COUNCIL DROPS PRST AFTER LIBYA 
ISOLATED 
 
REF: A. KUMAR/PHEE/MEYER E-MAILS 
     ¶B. USUN 75 
     ¶C. USUN 71 
     ¶D. USUN 65 
 
¶1. (SBU) After four days of negotiation on a draft 
Presidential Statement (PRST) on the situation in Gaza, in 
which USUN was initially isolated 14-1 but eventually 
persuaded all other delegations except Libya to support the 
U.S. position, Security Council Ambassadors met on January 29 
and decided that it would be impossible for the UNSC to reach 
consensus on this issue and dropped the item from 
consideration.  Before the Council consultations began, Amb 
Wolff and Libyan PR Ettalhi met to discuss the way forward, 
in light of the amendments proposed by Libya to the draft 
PRST agreed by fourteen delegations on January 25 (ref A). 
They agreed it would not be possible to reach consensus given 
the wide divergence in views represented in the January 25 
text and the Libyan amendments.  Ettalhi also told Amb Wolff 
that Libya would not/not table a draft resolution in place of 
the PRST.  After the bilateral meeting, the Libyan PR 
informed the rest of the Council that it would not be 
possible to reach consensus, and Amb Wolff supported this 
view. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Most of the other Council members expressed regret 
that the UNSC had been unable to pronounce itself on the 
situation in Gaza.  Several delegations, including South 
Africa, Vietnam, Costa Rica, and Russia, said they could have 
accepted both the amended version of the PRST presented by 
Libya on January 28 as well as the draft supported by 
fourteen delegations on January 25.  The UK and Belgium 
raised objections to the amendments presented by Libya, which 
deleted any condemnation of the rocket attacks against Israel 
and expressed concern about Israeli incursions into Gaza.  UK 
Amb Sawers argued that the UNSC could not equate rocket 
attacks with acts of self-defense.  Italy and Panama appealed 
to the U.S. and Libya to try again to reach consensus, but 
eventually agreed that such an effort would not succeed. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Although Ettalhi told Amb Wolff that Libya would 
not/not table a resolution in lieu of the PRST, USUN has 
learned that Syria and Qatar pushed the Arab Group at the UN 
to meet on January 29 to consider, in light of the inability 
of the UNSC to reach consensus on a PRST, whether to raise 
the Gaza issue in a special session of the UNGA. 
WOLFF