UN Security Council welcomes disengagement, urges continued cooperation By Shlomo Shamir August 25, 2005 Haaretz http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/616776.html In rare words of praise for Israel, the United Nations Security Council issued a statement Wednesday welcoming the Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. The members of the Security Council welcome the beginning of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the northern West Bank and they commend the ongoing implementation of this process, says the official statement. The council noted that the disengagement is in accordance with the internationally sponsored road map for peace, expressing hope that the pullout is to be one step in a ongoing peace process. In the statement, signed by Japanese Security Council President Kenzo Oshima, the Security Council commends the cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in securing a successful disengagement as well as the role played by James Wolfensohn, the Quartet's disengagement envoy. The statement calls for cooperation to continue, both between Israelis and Palestinians as well as between the two sides and the Quartet. Russian representatives pushed for the insertion of the words active involvement of the Quartet into the official statement, but the United States objected. Israel faults 'mundane' UN report on Gaza pullout Israel's UN ambassador criticized a senior UN official on Wednesday for not heaping enough praise on Israel for its pullout from Gaza, referring to a report by an official that said in the aftermath of the disengagement it was time to focus on Middle East peace. Ambassador Dan Gillerman faulted what he called a mundane report to the 15-nation Security Council by Ibrahim Gambari, the UN undersecretary-general for political affairs, for failing to rise to the occasion following the pullout. Gillerman also questioned whether such reports served any purpose. Various senior UN officials have been giving regular monthly briefings for about the past four years to the 15-nation council on developments in the volatile Middle East. Gambari, a Nigerian named to head the UN political affairs department in June, gave the council a chronological account of the pullout and noted Israel had completed the evacuation of settlers well in advance of the targeted date. It was now time for the quartet of the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations to assess the withdrawal in the context of its road map to Middle East peace, Gambari said. The quartet is scheduled to next meet Sept. 20 at U.N. headquarters. As the disengagement draws to an end, attention must turn to the aftermath- the 'day after,' Gambari said. It will be necessary to bring the process back into the mainstream laid down in the road map. Gillerman said he told Gambari that I felt it was a missed opportunity here after warm praise for the pullout from a broad array of world leaders including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel has done its part courageously and bravely, he said. I felt that this was a special day ... and deserved more than just the run of the mill report and more than platitudes, Gillerman told reporters. Maybe the time has come to consider a sunset clause for these reports and to find a new way for the U.N. to be engaged in the conflict in the Middle East. Gambari dismissed the criticisms. This is a monthly briefing. We tried to [cover] what has happened since the last briefing in all aspects. It was meant to recognize the historic nature and also to remind parties what needs to be done, he said. Bush: Next step is working gov't. in Gaza A day after the last settlers were ousted in the Gaza Strip, President George W. Bush said on Tuesday the next step is the establishment of a working, responsive Palestinian government in the Strip, as well as consolidation of PA security forces. Bush reiterated his praise for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon over his decision to withdraw about 8,000 civilians, saying it changed the dynamics on the ground and provided hope for the Palestinian people. What must take place next is the establishment of a working government in Gaza, a government that responds to the people, he said at a vacation resort in this western state. Bush said that for progress to be made on the road map there must be confidence, confidence that the Palestinian people will have in their own government to perform; the confidence with the Israelis that they'll see a peaceful state emerging. Therefore, he said, it was important to stay focused on Gaza, and helping Gaza - helping the Gaza economy get going, helping rebuild the settlements for Gaza - for the people of Gaza. He said Mahmoud Abbas, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, has committed himself to fight off violence because he understands a democracy can't exist with terrorist groups trying to take the law in their own hands. Bush said that different Palestinian factions and security forces that were in place to help keep longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in power, did not provide overall security for the Palestinian people. Arafat died in November. It is in the interest to consolidate those security forces so that the government has a vehicle and a group of folks by which to help enforce order, he said. Bush said American envoy General William Ward was working in the region to help the Palestinians consolidate their forces. Another American, former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, is helping Abbas develop a government that responds to the will of the people.