United States blamed for rejecting amendments presented by Libya on behalf of Arab UN ambassadors.

 
The UN Security Council on Tuesday abandoned efforts to adopt a compromise statement on the crisis in the Gaza Strip after failing to reach consensus on last-minute amendments offered by Libya.

"Unfortunately, the Security Council has decided to stop the discussion upon the issue," Libya's UN envoy Giadalla Ettalhi, the council chair for this month, told reporters.

A week after the council began discussing a draft statement on the humanitarian crisis sparked by the crippling Israeli lockdown of Gaza, Ettalhi said the 15 members realized that "they cannot reach a consensus."

He blamed the United States for rejecting amendments presented by Libya on behalf of Arab UN ambassadors.

The non-binding statement required the approval of all 15 members.

"We regret that the Council was not able to adopt a declaration," France's UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said in a statement.

"It is even more regrettable that the Council was close to an agreement" he added.

Last Friday, 14 council members agreed on a compromise text that would have called for an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza as well as to the rocket strikes on Israel. But Ettalhi then said he needed to consult with his government on how to proceed.

US Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff said Tuesday that he could not support some of the latest Libyan amendments.

"This does not reflect in any way any disagreement within the council about the concern about the humanitarian situation" in Gaza, he added.

Washington, a staunch ally of Israel, argued last week that Israel had acted in self-defense when it closed crossing points leading to Gaza in the face of rockets fired from the impoverished territory controlled by the democratically elected movement Hamas.

The Israeli blockade had triggered worldwide condemnation, with many countries equating it with "collective punishment" of Gaza's 1.5 million residents.

"It is very unfortunate that the Security Council was unable to (agree) a simple statement," Palestinian UN observer Ryad Mansour told reporters.

He said Arab ambassadors, who have accused the United States of politicizing what they see as essentially a humanitarian issue, would now assess the situation before deciding on their next step.

Last week, Arab ambassadors warned that if Washington blocked adoption of the statement, they might resubmit it in the form of a resolution or take their case to the 192-member General Assembly where they were confident of securing overwhelming support.

Tuesday, Mansour said that in any case the Gaza crisis would again be raised by Arab states and their supporters Wednesday during a scheduled open debate of the Security Council on the Middle East.

Meanwhile Egypt resealed its border with Gaza except for two crossing points as it tried to stem the uncontrolled movement of Palestinians in the past week.

Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have swarmed into Egypt since militants blew holes in the border wall on January 22 to break the Israeli blockade that left much of the territory without power and basic foodstuffs.

HEYET Net- Middle East Online