Haaretz
Nisan 13, 5766
NEW YORK -
Ambassadors to the United Nations from the Arab states convened Monday at
the UN's New York headquarters to discuss strategy concerning the
escalation of Israeli military strikes against Palestinian targets.
They decided to urge the UN Security Council to take unspecified
action against Israel.
"The international community cannot continue
to stand idly by while defenseless women, children and men continue to be
killed, wounded and maimed," Palestinian UN Observer Riyad Mansour
said.
The 15-nation council, "in upholding its duty to maintain
international peace and security, should take action," Mansour said in a
letter to Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya, the Security Council president
for April.
Wang told reporters he would consult his council
colleagues before deciding on a response to Mansour's request. The meeting
is expected to take place Tuesday at the earliest, and will most likely be
held Wednesday.
It is unlikely, however, that the council will
reach a decision to take action against Israel. The council will most
likely issue a presidential declaration regarding the matter, taking into
account the recent increase of Qassam rockets launched at
Israel.
Mansour said that since last Friday, Israel Defense Forces
troops had killed at least 18 Palestinians, including a 6-year-old boy,
and had injured many more. Among its recent attacks were three targeted
assassinations in Gaza, in which Palestinians were killed by missiles or
rockets fired from military aircraft.
On Monday night, an
eight-year-old girl was killed when IDF artillery fire struck her
home in northern Gaza. Five other people were wounded, including her
pregnant mother, who was seriously hurt.
Israel says it reserves
the right to conduct extrajudicial killings of Palestinian militants bent
on carrying out attacks targeting Israel. It says the action in Gaza is
aimed at halting rocket attacks on Israeli territory.
UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement over the weekend
expressing concern about the increasing violence on both sides, including
rocket attacks on Israeli targets and Israeli reprisals.