US blocks bid to censure Israel for barrier

UNITED NATIONS -- The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution last night that would have condemned Israel for building a barrier that cuts into the West Bank.

The United States was the only country to vote against, using its veto as one of five permanent members of the council. Four of the 15 members of the Security Council abstained: Bulgaria, Cameroon, Germany, and Britain, which also is a permanent member.

US Ambassador John Negroponte said the resolution "was unbalanced" and "did not further the goals of peace and security in the region."

The vote came after a fierce daylong debate that saw several countries portray the wall as racist and colonialist, a blatant land-grab, and an overreaction that would turn some parts of the Palestinian territories into "open-air prisons."

The United States suggested an alternate draft that would have called on all parties in the Middle East struggle to dismantle terrorist groups. But Syria went ahead with the vote.

Syria's UN ambassador, Fayssal Mekdad, whose country is the only Arab nation on the 15-member council, introduced the draft resolution Thursday on behalf of the 22-member Arab League.

The request for Security Council action came a week after the Israeli Cabinet approved an extension of the barrier that would sweep around Jewish settlements deep in the West Bank.

Before last week's decision, the barrier -- a network of fences, walls, razor wires, and trenches -- had largely kept to the 1967 Israel-West Bank dividing line known as the "Green Line," diverting in some places a few miles into the West Bank to enclose Jewish settlements.

The Palestinian UN observer, Nasser Al-Kidwa, repeatedly referred to the barrier as an "expansionist wall" that only brought more suffering to Palestinians.

"It is thus abundantly clear that the establishment of the expansionist conquest wall by the occupying power is a war crime and, I reiterate, it is a crime of the same magnitude as a crime against humanity," Kidwa said.

After the open meeting, the Security Council had adjourned and diplomats had said the United States was seeking changes. Negroponte has insisted any resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must condemn terrorist activities by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other groups.

A council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinians indicated they were willing to continue discussions on the draft but Syria forced the vote.

Also yesterday, Israel's military ordered 15 Palestinian detainees expelled from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, an action human rights groups denounced as a violation of international law.

The military said the expulsion orders were the only way to be sure the detainees would not return to terror activity. The military said most belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant groups.

None participated directly in attacks on Israelis or had "blood on their hands," an army statement said, but all were accomplices to violence.

The 15 were being held in military lockups without trial, in what is called administrative detention. They cannot be tried, the army said, without exposing sensitive intelligence sources.

In the past, the military has said expulsion acts as a deterrent, but Israel's Supreme Court, in a 2002 ruling, severely limited the practice to only those directly involved in violence.

Even with the court's limitations, human rights groups say the practice violates international law.

Meanwhile, the new Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qurei, sparred in public with Yasser Arafat -- a sign the rift between the two is deepening.

On Monday, Arafat appointed a top member of his Fatah party, Hakam Balawi, to be acting interior minister. In a show of defiance, Qurei, who had supported another choice for the post, told reporters yesterday Balawi did not have the job.

Further, Qurei said the powers and responsibilities of the Interior Ministry would be taken over by the Palestinian national security council for now.

Violence continued yesterday. In a raid on the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza before dawn, army bulldozers destroyed four homes, while troops took over several buildings and snipers set up rooftop positions. Six Palestinians were wounded in gun battles.