Palestinian Hails Gaza Plan's Defeat
By Benny Avni
July 31, 2007
The New York Sun
Original Source: http://www.nysun.com/article/59477
UNITED NATIONS — A proposed U.N. Security Council action meant to alleviate Palestinian Arab humanitarian suffering was withdrawn yesterday due to lack of support. But in a twist on an ancient United Nations ritual, the first diplomat to welcome the proposal's defeat was the Palestinian Arab observer, Riyad Mansour.
Mr. Mansour accused the Arab Security Council member, Qatar, which sponsored the attempt to address the situation in Gaza, of trying to bring internal Palestinian Arab disputes into the council. Other U.N. diplomats were even more blunt, saying Hamas was behind the Qatari move and that it was designed to embarrass the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority government of President Abbas.
Referring to the Hamas political director, Mr. Mansour yesterday told The New York Sun that Khaled Meshaal goes back and forth between Syria and Qatar; you draw your own conclusion. According to Mr. Mansour, the Qatari ambassador to the United Nations, Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser, did not consult him or anyone in the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority before writing his draft proposal for a presidential statement by the council about the humanitarian situation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Nor did Mr. Nasser consult the group of Arab U.N. ambassadors who regularly coordinate their council moves, or the voting bloc known as the Non-Aligned Movement, Mr. Mansour added.
When it comes to issues related the Palestinians, it's objectionable to us to act behind our backs, he said. There is only one Palestinian representative here at the U.N. Deepening the divide among Palestinian Arab factions by bringing their issue to the council, Mr. Mansour said, is not for the benefit of the Palestinian people.
Mr. Nasser did not return a phone call seeking comment yesterday.
In recent decades, Palestinian Arab representatives have made repeated attempts to push the Security Council to act on issues involving their disputes with Israel. With heavy American lobbying, which has included the use of its veto power, those efforts almost always have reached a dead end. American and Israeli officials have denounced the attempts to use the council to solve problems, rather than solving them on the ground.
But yesterday it was Mr. Mansour who said solutions on the ground were more effective than council action. We are very active, along with the secretary-general's office and other U.N. agencies, to alleviate the suffering in Gaza, he said. Because of the efforts of the Palestinian Authority and their coordination with Israel — and despite Hamas's objections — there is currently no shortage of food, medicine, electricity, and other humanitarian necessities in Gaza, he said. As of the weekend, the efforts of President Abbas, and with the Israelis and the Egyptians, we found a practical solution to those who were stranded on the borders, Mr. Mansour said, referring to 650 Gaza residents who returned home after being caught on the Egyptian side of the border after the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June. About 1,000 more refugees are expected to return today, he said, and he predicted that a solution would soon be found for all 6,000 of the stranded Gaza residents.
This is true about everything at the U.N., the deputy Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Daniel Carmon, said. Solutions on the ground are always preferable to resolutions here. Once it comes to the council, they fight over every comma, instead of looking for practical ways to solve complex issues.