UN approves resolution against Israel

The UN Security Council today approved a compromise resolution on the Middle East crisis, demanding that Israel cease actions around Yasser Arafat’s West Bank compound while condemning terrorist attacks.

The US abstained from the vote.

The compromise resolution was negotiated by the European Union and based on two competing proposals from the United States and the Palestinians.

Deputy US ambassador James Cunningham said the resolution was “flawed in our view in that it failed to explicitly condemn the terrorist groups and those who provide them with political cover, support and safe haven in perpetuating conflict in the Middle East.”