Israel Matzav

UN General Assembly to hold special session on Beit Hanoun

The United Nations General Assembly will hold a special session on Friday to condemn Israel's incursion into Beit Hanoun last week. The General Assembly's decisions are only declarative, but no country has a veto.

The session was called in response to the US veto of a Security Council resolution condemning Israel this past Saturday. It goes without saying that 'Palestinian' Kassam fire originating out of Beit Hanoun - including today's deadly missiles - will not be on the agenda.

Earlier today, the UN's 47-member 'Human Rights Council' adopted an Arab-sponsored resolution that condemned Israel's "gross and systematic" human rights violations in Gaza and sent a mission to probe the incident last week in which an IDF shell crashed into a residential building, killing nineteen people.

In the six months of its existence the 'Human Rights Council' has not condemned any country other than Israel. Haaretz reports that the resolution passed 32-6 with eight abstentions. That there were even eight abstentions is nothing short of miraculous.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour told Human Rights Council members she will visit Israel and the West Bank and Gaza during a six-day mission starting Nov. 19 to examine the current situation of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

"My primary concern will be to emphasize the obligation to protect civilians during armed confrontation, and the entitlement of all, Palestinians and Israelis alike, to live free from fear, free from want, free from harm," she said. Don't hold your breath waiting for her to do anything for Israeli civilians. I'll be shocked if she even visits Sderot.

Haaretz is also reporting on the draft resolution that will be presented to the UN General Assembly on Friday:

A draft of the proposal includes the main operative measures that made up the Qatari proposal vetoed by the United States last week. The draft calls on the UN secretary-general to dispatch a "fact-finding mission" to investigate the Beit Hanun incident.

The draft proposal also includes a clause that calls for the establishment of an "international mechanism" for the protection of Gaza's civilian population.

In its efforts to thwart the proposal, Israel's delegation to the UN has held talks with representatives from the United States and other central members of the organization. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem has also instructed its missions abroad to makes efforts to prevent approval of the draft proposal.

Don't hold your breath waiting for it not to pass. In the General Assembly, passage of any Arab-sponsored resolution is assured. Here's my prediction: Israel, the US and Micronesia will vote no, if they don't walk out in disgust first. Anything beyond that will be a pleasant surprise.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:36 PM