By Xinhua
Jerusalem : Israeli Foreign Ministry directed on Tuesday Israel’s delegation to the United Nations to oppose any resolution in the Security Council regarding the Gaza Strip, Xinhua has learnt.
Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the delegation will emphasize the damage and suffering caused by the incessant firing of Qassam rockets at Sderot and other Israeli cities and communities nearby.
“A situation in which the Security Council debates the plight of the residents of Gaza, while completely ignoring the situation of Israelis living under the constant threat of Qassam rockets, is totally unacceptable,” FM Director-General Aharon Abramovich said in the statement.
Israeli senior political sources said the government is very concerned that the council, which will meet Tuesday to discuss the situation in Gaza Strip, will likely accept the Arab states’ position and charge Israel with collective punishment.
Also on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she had spoken to the Israeli officials and urged them to avert a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Nobody wants innocent Gazans to suffer and so we have spoken to the Israelis about the importance of not allowing a humanitarian crisis to unfold there,” Rice was quoted by the website of local daily Ha’aretz as saying to reporters traveling with her to Berlin for a meeting on Iran.
Rice said ultimately Hamas was to blame for the situation in Gaza and the Israelis were dealing with an “intolerable” situation, with the firing of rockets and the anxiety and terror that came with that.
She said there needed to be creative solutions to the problem and referred to the Quartet’s suggestion of allowing the Palestinian Authority to play a greater role at the crossings.
Israel delivered fuel to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in the first shipment since it stepped up the embargo on the Hamas-controlled territory in response to the massive Qassam rocket barrages that targeted Israeli communities in recent days.
Israel agreed Monday to allow some fuel and medicine shipments into the besieged territory, saying not to allow a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip but blaming Hamas for the current situation.
The decision followed growing international pressure at what was described as an imminent humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.