Arab nations fume over UNSC veto

Hamad: Decision gives green light to Israel to continue "its acts of slaughter."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Amr Moussa 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Amr Moussa 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Arab nations on Sunday expressed their anger at the US decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel's offensive the Gaza Strip. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said that he was "surprised and disappointed" by the US decision, and claimed that the veto would increase the anger towards Israel. "It is inconceivable for the power of veto to be used to defend Israel's actions against civilians," he exclaimed. Ghazi Hamad, a spokesman for the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government, said that the PA government "strongly condemns the American veto." "This decision by the US government gives a green light to Israel to continue its acts of slaughter," said Hamad. "It brings shame on the American administration, which says it is trying to promote human rights and democracy in the Middle East," he continued. Hamas itself, meanwhile, released a statement on Sunday saying that the "American veto represents a political and moral aggression against our people and national cause, an ugly act of racism, and a direct encouragement of the Zionist enemy to commit more crimes and massacres." Meanwhile, Nabil Abu Rudaina, spokesman for PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, expressed similar sentiments. He said that the veto "encourages Israel to continue its attacks against the Palestinians." Following the veto, a number of Palestinian terrorists threatened to attack US targets. AP contributed to this report.