UN Pre-Condemns Potential Israeli Actions For Next 3 Months

The Obama administration was so taken with this newfound sense of initiative on the part of the Security Council that they decided such a development should be endorsed even at Israel’s expense.

Geneva, April 25 – Seeking to save time and effort in case Israel responds militarily to recent attacks by Palestinians, the United Nations Human Rights and Security Councils convened separately to condemn in advance any possible IDF actions in that regard.

A bus carrying passengers to Jerusalem on Highway 443, part of which which runs near several Palestinian villages, was hit by a homemade bomb this evening, apparently hurled from the roadside. No casualties were reported, but the bus suffered damage and traffic in both directions was snarled for several kilometers. On Thursday, a rocket from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel, also causing no damage, but heightening tensions. A string of stabbing and automotive attacks over the last few weeks has claimed the lives of at least one Israeli and injured several more. Anticipating Israeli steps to neutralize suspects at large and to deter future attacks, the two UN bodies decided not to wait until after those operations take place, but to hold sessions immediately to issue a blanket condemnation that omits the particular details of the potential military actions.

“The Council condemns in the harshest terms the Israeli aggression and calls on the Israeli government to immediately take steps to reduce tensions and return to the negotiating table,” read Security Council Resolution 9441. More or less simultaneously, the Human Rights Council issued Proclamation 909, which used similar language, and accused the Israel Defense Forces of “disproportionate responses that appear to violate the Laws of Armed Conflict.” The Human Rights Council announced it would form a commission to investigate such possible war crimes, and had already begun its search for the head of such a commission even before the session began.

UN observers hailed the move, calling the time-saving measure a breath of fresh air in the normally plodding pace of the two Councils’ proceedings. “It is a welcome sight to see these organizations taking proactive steps to achieve their aims, instead of merely being swept along by events,” said former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, normally a frequent and vocal critic of the body. “Evidently, and rightly, the Obama administration was so taken with this newfound sense of initiative on the part of the Security Council that they decided such a development should be endorsed even at Israel’s expense,” and that therefore the US did not exercise its veto on the Council. Bolton said Israel falling victim to the move was regrettable, but that the situation could be weathered.

Also on Saturday, the Security Council issued preliminary approval to subcontract UNIFIL operations to the local Hezbollah organization, a decision with the potential to save tens of millions of dollars per year.