UN council eyes plea to shield Arafat, veto looms ( 2003-09-16 09:26) (Agencies)
Facing a U.S. veto threat, the Security Council
set a vote for Tuesday on a resolution, backed by Arab nations, demanding that
Israel not harm or deport Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
The council's late Monday decision to go to a vote on a resolution drafted by
Palestinian U.N. envoy Nasser al-Kidwa capped a day of harsh debate in which
more than 40 governments took the floor to condemn a decision by the Israeli
security cabinet to get rid of Arafat through unspecified means.
Palestinian demonstrators carry a poster of
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat during a demonstration of support in
the West Bank city of Hebron Sept. 15, 2003. The top U.N. envoy for the
Middle East warned that more bloodshed was inevitable unless the
international road map for peace between Israel and the Palestinians was
pushed forward more quickly. [Reuters]
But Washington, Israel's closest ally, was "not prepared to support the
resolution in its present form" because it did not explicitly condemn terrorism
by Palestinian militant groups and was "very lopsided" against Israel, U.S.
Ambassador John Negroponte told reporters.
There is "a perfectly good peace plan already on the table" and senior
officials of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United
Nations will be meeting later this month in New York to explore next steps on
the Middle East, Negroponte said.
The draft resolution "demands that Israel, the occupying power, desist from
any act of deportation and to cease any threat to the safety of the elected
president of the Palestinian Authority."
Syria, the principal sponsor of the measure in the council on behalf of Arab
and nonaligned nations, unveiled some last-minute changes in an attempt to
broaden support.
It added, for example, a phrase expressing "grave concern" at the recent
surge in violence, that attacks on both sides had "caused enormous suffering and
many innocent victims."
But diplomats said the changes were unlikely to head off a U.S. veto.
A PLEA TO ABANDON SETTLEMENTS
Speaking at the start of the nearly eight-hour council debate, Terje
Roed-Larsen, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process,
warned that peace plans had ground to a standstill and more bloodshed was
inevitable unless the plans could be quickly pushed forward.
The best way to revive the international road map to peace between Israelis
and Palestinians was for Israel to abandon its settlements on Palestinian lands,
Roed-Larsen said.
"Without popular support, no Palestinian prime minister can at this stage
counter terrorism and terror organizations in an effective manner," he said.
"This essential public support could best be achieved, under the current
circumstances, through abandonment of settlements."
Roed-Larsen criticized the Palestinians, in turn, for failing to take
advantage of a recent cease-fire to carry out security reforms including
consolidating security forces.
The U.N. envoy also questioned the Israeli decision in principle to "remove"
Arafat, whom he called "the legitimate leader of the Palestinians."
Arafat's forceful removal could be dangerous as well as counterproductive to
peace efforts, he warned.
Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman, dismissing Arafat as a liar and a
"professional terrorist," predicted his removal would swiftly lead to an end to
the conflict.
Arafat "is at the helm of those who have been supporting mega-terror attacks
in the style of the bombing of the twin towers, to bring the region to the brink
of catastrophe," Gillerman said, prompting al-Kidwa to walk out of the
chamber.
