Palestinians condemn US veto

Source: CCTV.com | 11-13-2006 09:21

Palestinians have expressed anger at the US decision to veto a UN Security Council resolution condemning an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Some militants threatened to attack US targets.

The UN resolution vetoed by the US was presented after an Israeli artillery barrage in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun killed 18 people on Wednesday.

The resolution condemned the attack and called on Israeli troops to pull out of Gaza.

US Ambassador John Bolton said the Arab-backed draft resolution was "biased against Israel and politically motivated."

But Palestinian groups were furious at the US veto of the resolution.

Palestinian government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said: "We think it is very shameful that the United States uses (its) veto to give cover to massacres and murders by the occupation forces. We expect that the United States should understand that giving such a veto gives permission for Israel to continue its segregation and its massacres executed against the Palestinian people."

He added that the veto was shameful for the American administration, which says it is trying to promote human rights and democracy in the Middle East.

The Popular Resistance Committees, a Hamas-linked militant group, made vague threats of violence against the US, accusing them of backing the killings.

Editor:Wang Ping