Draft on East Jerusalem not adopted by Security Council: United States vetoes text

UN Chronicle, Sept, 1995

A draft resolution calling upon Israel - the occupying Power - to rescind its orders for expropriation of some 53 hectares of land in East Jerusalem was not adopted by the Security Council on 17 May, due to a veto by one of its permanent members - the United States. The vote was 14 in favour to 1 against.

The text would have confirmed that Israel's expropriation orders were "invalid and in violation" of relevant Council resolutions and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war.

The United States said it had exercised its veto for the first time in five years, "reluctantly, but without hesitation", on a matter of principle. (On 7 November 1989, it had rejected a draft, strongly deploring Israeli policies and practices violating the human rights of the Palestinians in the occupied territories.)

As a co-sponsor of the Middle East peace process, the United States said it believed that direct talks between the parties were the "only path to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace" in the region. By declaring itself on the issue of Jerusalem, the Council would have violated that principle. The issue must be resolved between the parties, "with the support of the international community, but without its interference", it said.

"We have not voted against this resolution because we support Israel's decision on land expropriation: we do not", the United States declared. "This vote is a result of our longheld and long-stated position regarding what we can and cannot support in this Council."

The Russian Federation - the other co-sponsor of the peace process - said that any action to "alter the status quo" in Jerusalem prior to negotiations on the final status of Palestinian territories was "contravening the spirit of the Palestinian-Israeli agreements and the peace process as a whole".

Palestine said the United States veto - a "clear backing of the illegal Israeli action and an attempt to legalize it" - would be counterproductive, complicating the peace process.

Israel stated that the matter was for the parties concerned, based on the Declaration of Principles on interim Self-Government Arrangements of 13 September 1993, and that the outcome of Council deliberations was appropriate. It called upon its partners to "accelerate the progress towards peace, build mutual confidence, combat terrorism and implement the agreements" which had been signed.

The voting was preceded by a three-day Council debate on the situation in the occupied Arab territories, in which some 40 representatives took part. Convened at Headquarters on 12, 15 and 1 6 May, in response to a request by Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, the meetings focused on Israel's settlement policies, its land expropriation orders for East Jerusalem, and recent excavations under the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Resolution 996:

UNDOF extended

The mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) - established in 1974 to supervise the cease-fire between Israeli and Syrian forces - was renewed by the Security Council on 30 May for another six months, until 30 November.

By unanimously adopting resolution 996 (1995), the Council also called upon the parties concerned to implement immediately its resolution 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973, which urged a just and durable peace settlement in the Middle East conflict.

In a statement by its President, Jean-Bertrand Merimee of France, the Council also confirmed the Secretary-General's view that the situation in the Middle East, "despite the present quiet in the Israel-Syria sector", continued to be "potentially dangerous" and was likely to remain so, "unless and until a comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the Middle East problem can be reached".

On 17 May, the Secretary-General had reported (S/1995/398) that UNDOF maintained close contacts with the military liaison staffs of Israel and Syria, but both sides continued to impose some restrictions on the Force's freedom of movement. The cease-fire, however, had been maintained and the operational situation in the area remained calm, he said.

Concern over

hostilities

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on 16 June expressed deep concern over "recent escalation of hostilities" along the Israeli-Lebanese border, which again had claimed civilian casualties. He urged all parties to exercise restraint and, in particular, refrain from attacking civilians.

Earlier, two attacks on Israeli buses in the Gaza Strip on 9 April, in which several people had been killed and dozens wounded, were strongly condemned by the Secretary-General on 10 April. Those terrorist acts, he said, could "only serve to undermine the confidence required to sustain the peace process".

He also commended Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for "continuing their negotiations today, in an effort to implement fully the Declaration of Principles".

Unless progress was made in the enjoyment of human rights by all the inhabitants of the occupied territories, support for the peace process would "erode and give way to despair", so stated the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories on 24 May, as it completed a field mission to Egypt, Jordan and Syria (13-23 May).