The Security Council yesterday began what is likely to be a long debate on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, amid mounting frustration at Israel's failure to pull out of the West Bank.
Forty-one speakers are scheduled to speak at the fifth council session since March 30th, when the council adopted Resolution 1402, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli forces.
"Israel is doing damage to itself by not implementing council resolutions," the British ambassador to the UN, Mr Jeremy Greenstock, said. He said the council "made it very clear" in private talks with the Israeli ambassador, Mr Yehuda Lancry, that "Israel is not implementing the resolutions".
Council members also met the Palestinian observer to the UN, Mr Nasser Al-Kidwa, and insisted "that we need to have an unequivocal statement" that the Palestinians would comply with Resolution 1402, he said.
"The Palestinians must make clear that there will be a cessation of violence, and that has got to include a cessation of any terrorist acts," he said. "We're still not convinced on the Palestinian side that there has been that decision to make absolutely sure, as soon as 1402 begins to be implemented, that there will be no other terrorist acts."
Mr Greenstock described Mr Lancry's response as "extremely disappointing", saying the Israeli ambassador had merely explained why Israel was acting as it was.
"Well, we know why they're doing it, because they've had appalling acts of terrorism taking place, but you cannot deal with this by the disproportionate use of military violence," Mr Greenstock said. "This clearly has not sunk in." - (AFP)