Australia, US against condemning Israel 07:25 AEST Fri Apr 15 2005
Australia and the United States were the only members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission to vote against condemning Israel's settlement of "occupied Palestinian territory" including the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The rest of the 53-member UN watchdog demanded the Israeli government reverse its policy.
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The resolution on Israel, pbutted by a 39-2 vote with 12 abstentions, said the Israeli government should "prevent any new installation of settlers in the occupied territories".
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It called for Israel to guarantee the safety of Palestinian civilians.
Australia and the United States cast the two votes against.
Censure by the commission brings no penalties but spotlights a government's record, and delegations lobby hard to avoid it.
Israel's Ambbuttador Itzhak Levanon said the one-sided resolution brought shame on the United Nations, noting that Israeli planned to withdraw from Gaza and the northern West Bank in a few months.
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"If there is a dismantlement of settlements on the ground that will begin in a matter of weeks, what is the relevance of such a resolution?" Levanon said.
"The adoption of this resolution is in fact a one-sided judgment on outstanding issues."
Palestinian ambbuttador Mohammad Abu-Koash said that listening to Levanon, one could imagine that "Palestinians are the occupiers and the Israelis are the occupied".
Former United States Senator Rudy Boschwitz, head of the US delegation, said it was unfair to single out Israel.
Since capturing the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, Israel has built numerous settlements the territories where Palestinians hope to form a future state.
As part of the internationally backed "road map" peace plan, Israel is to freeze construction in settlements.
The commission also pbutted a resolution condemning the use of force by Israel against Palestinian civilians by a 29-10 vote.
A third resolution calling on Israel to respect the human rights of Syrian citizens in the occupied Golan Heights was also adopted by a 32-2 vote.
