Syria, this month's UN Security Council president, rebuffed accusations by Israel that it incited terrorism and showed contempt for international law.
"The Israeli representative has today given us a number of lies, ... but the president of the council will not stoop to his level," Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, Mikhail Wehbe, said as he closed a public council session.
Wehbe, who holds the rotating council presidency for June, sat in the chair for the first public Middle East debate the council scheduled in six weeks.
The debate was called by Arab nations but chief Palestinian delegate, Nasser al-Kidwa said he would wait "a few days" to see results of meetings among various countries before demanding a council resolution.
Wehbe said Israel had escalated attacks against his country recently "to cover up the crimes and destruction and terrorism" perpetrated against the Palestinian struggle for independence.
"The Security Council has adopted 28 resolutions since 1948 to deal with the tragedy of the Palestinian people, and Israel has not adopted any of them," Wehbe stated. Wehbe aired that everyone had the right to condemn terrorism "except Israel" which practiced it against Palestinians.
Earlier, Yehuda Lancry, the Israeli Ambassador said Palestinian suicide bombers operating from the West Bank and Gaza were not the only threat to Israel. He declared Syria's hardline positions in the region and its "utter contempt" for international law disqualified it from a seat on the council "let alone the holder of its presidency."
He accused Syria of giving haven to Islamic Jihad, and added that Hizbullah guerrillas attacked Israel from south Lebanon "with the consent and support of the Syrian regime." He also quoted Radio Damascus as glorifying suicide attacks as a means to "liberate occupied Arab lands." Such activities "testify to Syria's contempt for the provisions of international law," Lancry commented.
Syria occupies and dominates Lebanon and forgot the "mass murder" against it own citizens when troops shelled the center of the town of Hama in 1982, the Israeli representative noted.
For his part, the deputy US ambassador, James Cunningham, stopped short of mentioning Syria by name, although his meaning was clear. "Mr. President, we need to speak plainly," Cunningham said. "Safe haven for those who finance, plan, support or commit terrorist acts must end; that is a Chapter Seven decision of the Security Council in Resolution 1373."
According to AFP, Chapter Seven of the UN Charter empowers the council to impose sanctions on member states which fail to implement its decisions.
"Only last week, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, from its headquarters in Damascus, claimed credit for the horrific car bomb attack on a public bus in Israel that killed 17 and wounded 30," Cunningham said. "This was an act of terror. It was not resistance; it was not martyrdom. It must be condemned, and those responsible must be brought to justice," he said.
"And those who harbor the people ordering such acts of terror, whoever they are, are under an obligation from this council to take action against them," the U.S. official said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
