UN: The United Nations Security Council yesterday passed a land-mark resolution demanding that Israel "immediately cease" its siege of the headquarters in Ramallah of the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, and withdraw from Palestinian cities it has occupied.
The resolution, considered a major achievement by Arab officials at the UN, was passed by 14-0 with the US abstaining on the grounds that it was not sufficiently tough on terrorism.
Ireland played a significant role in formulating the final wording of the resolution, which was submitted by Bulgaria, France, Ireland, Norway and Britain, UN diplomats said.
The resolution condemns terrorism, calls on the Palestinian Authority to bring to justice those responsible for terrorist acts, and demands "the expeditious withdrawal of the Israeli occupying forces from Palestinian cities towards the return to the positions held prior to September 2000".
Mr Arafat's spokesman Mr Nabil Abu Rdeineh, who had requested the Security Council debate, called the vote on resolution No 1435 "a step in the right direction". The US had blocked a similar resolution in December.
He said the fact that the US abstained rather than veto the resolution "is a clear criticism of Israel and its actions on the ground and reveals their dissatisfaction with Israel and its measures".
President Bush underlined US irritation with Israel after the vote yesterday. "We've got to end the suffering," he told reporters in the White House. "I thought the actions the Israelis took [in Ramallah\] were not helpful in terms of the establishment and development of the institutions necessary for a Palestinian state to emerge."
US diplomat Mr James Cunningham said the resolution failed explicitly to condemn terrorists. The US had wanted specific wording naming Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade as responsible for suicide bombings in Israel last week. The US text also accused the Israelis of aggravating the situation by its actions.
Israel's UN ambassador, Mr Yehuda Lancry, said the US abstention should be seen in light of Washington's desire to preserve good international relations ahead of possible military action against Iraq.
The European members of the UN Security Council, Ireland, Britain, France and Norway, secured a compromise wording in the early hours of yesterday after two resolutions were tabled: the first by Syria condemning Israel and that by the US putting a heavy emphasis on condemning terrorism.
At Ireland's insistence, the Syrian draft rather than the US text was taken as the basis for the final resolution, according to UN diplomatic sources. "The Irish took the attitude that there is a problem of terrorism in the Middle East but the problem of the Middle East is not one of terrorism," a diplomat said.
The Irish Government's attitude was spelt out by the Irish ambassador to the UN, Mr Richard Ryan, who called on Israel to withdraw from Mr Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah and to exercise greatest restraint.
The "terrorist attacks on the innocent Israeli civilians, for which there could be no justification, must not be allowed to provoke a reaction that, in turn, caused civilian casualties and was totally counter-productive to prospects to resolve the conflict," Mr Ryan told a meeting of the council which lasted from Monday morning until 2.30 a.m. yesterday.
Unlike Security Council resolutions on Iraq, resolution 1435 does not carry the threat of sanctions if it is ignored by Israel. A UN diplomat said: "Such a resolution wouldn't get anywhere on the Middle East: how many countries would send forces to oppose Israel?"
Expressing disappointment, Israeli leaders strongly intimated yesterday that they would not abide by it and that the siege on Mr Arafat's compound in Ramallah would continue.
"No decision can take away from us our right to defend ourselves," said Israel's Defence Minister, Mr Benjamin Ben-Eliezer. As soon as the Palestinians "stop the terror", he added, Israel would be able to lift the siege.
Israeli Cabinet Secretary Mr Gideon Sa'ar said Israel was sticking to its demand that about 20 men holed up inside Mr Arafat's compound, whom it says had been involved in attacks on Israelis, be handed over before the siege was lifted. "I am not saying that we do not take into account US interests, but we have a clear demand and that is for them [the militants\] to be brought to justice in Israel," he said.
In a statement, Mr Arafat stressed that "the Palestinian Authority is committed to the decision with all its items and it calls on the international community to compel Israel to implement the withdrawal and end the siege".