UN Security Council condemns truck ramming attack that killed 4 Israeli soldiers
The statement said that the council finds any acts of terrorism “criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation.”
By JTAScene of Jerusalem ramming attack(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
The United Nations Security Council condemned the truck ramming attack in Jerusalem that left four Israeli soldiers dead.The statement released late Sunday “condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jerusalem on January 8” and expressed condolences to the families of the victims and to government of Israel.The statement was tweeted Sunday night by Sweden’s Mission to the United Nations. Sweden holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council this month.“The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” the statement said.The statement said that the council finds any acts of terrorism “criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation.”The statement “reaffirmed the need for all states to combat by all means in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other obligations under international law, including international human rights law, international refugee law, and international humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.”The four soldiers were killed and at least 15 injured when the driver of a large truck, , a resident of the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, drove into a group of soldiers who had just gotten off a bus on the promenade in the Arnon Hatnatziv neighborhood, which marks the border between the eastern and western halves of Jerusalem. The driver then reversed back over the bodies after he had hit them, before being shot by a civilian tour guide and at least two of the soldiers.The Security Council late last month passed a resolution by a vote of 14-0 with the Unites States abstaining, condemning Israeli settlements, calling them illegal and an obstacle to achieving peace with the Palestinians and the Arab world.The UN's special coordinator for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov, also condemned Sunday's deadly truck-ramming attack, calling the event "reprehensible."The UN envoy sent his condolence to the families and friends of the victims in the attack that occurred in the capital's Armon Hanatziv neighborhood."It is reprehensible that some choose to glorify such acts which undermine the possibility of a peaceful future for both Palestinians and Israelis. "There is nothing heroic in such actions," he said in apparent reference to Hamas, which hailed the deadly attack."I urge all to condemn violence and incitement, maintain calm and to do everything they can to avoid further escalation," he added.