UNSC fails to condemn J'lem shooting

Libya blocks move as it seeks to link it to its own resolution urging condemnation of IDF ops in Gaza.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
UNSC 224 88 (photo credit: AP [file])
UNSC 224 88
(photo credit: AP [file])
The UN Security Council failed to reach an agreement over the weekend on issuing an official condemnation of the deadly shooting attack Thursday in Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva because of Libyan opposition. "Most members [of the council] wanted to condemn [the attack] but Libya blocked it," Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman told reporters. US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said US efforts to issue a statement condemning the attack "in the strongest terms" failed because Libya sought to link it to its own resolution urging condemnation of Israel over the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip last week. Khalilzad criticized Libya, saying that a terror attack specifically targeting civilians could not be equated to military operations aimed at stopping rocket fire. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, which currently holds the rotating monthly presidency of the Security Council, expressed his frustration that member states could not come to a decision to issue a condemnation for a terror attack and were instead getting bogged down by complexities over the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "What kind of specific horrendous terror attack in the area will it take to make the council condemn without going through all the history of the region," he said. On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the shooting, calling it a "savage attack." In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Ban deplored the deliberate killing and injuring of civilians and offered his condolences to the families of those killed. "The secretary-general is deeply concerned at the potential for continued acts of violence and terrorism to undermine the political process, which he believes must be pursued to achieve a secure and lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians, based on a two-state solution," the statement said.