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U.S. vetoes U.N. Security Council resolution 
Bolton: Arab-backed effort to remove IDF from Gaza 'biased against Israel'

The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution Saturday that sought to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and demand Israeli troops pull out the territory.

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

"This resolution does not display an evenhanded characterization of the recent events in Gaza, nor does it advance the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace to which we aspire and for which we are working assiduously," he told the Security Council.

It was the second U.S. veto of a Security Council draft resolution concerning Israeli military operations in Gaza this year. The U.S. blocked action on a document this summer after Israel launched its offensive in response to the capture of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-linked Palestinian militants.

The draft received 10 votes in favor and four abstentions, along with the U.S. vote against. Britain, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia all abstained.

Danish Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Loj said her country abstained because the draft did not include "a more thorough recognition of the complexities on the ground."

Palestinians strengthened calls for Security Council action earlier this week after an early morning Israeli artillery barrage in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun killed 19 people on Wednesday.

In an open session of the General Assembly on Thursday, Palestinian U.N. observer Riyad Mansour called the attack "state terrorism" and said the perpetrators should be held accountable under international law for war crimes.

Israel has expressed regret for the loss of life in Beit Hanoun but has said it will continue operations to stop militants from launching rockets into Israel from Gaza.

The army said it was targeting areas where rockets had been fired in recent days at the Israeli cities. It said an investigation indicated the casualties were caused by a technical failure in the fire control system of an artillery battery.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is scheduled to visit Washington on Sunday to meet with President Bush.

The draft resolution, which was introduced by Qatar, had been weakened slightly in recent days to help improve its chances of passage. A section was added demanding the Palestinian Authority take immediate action to bring an end to violence, including the firing of rockets into Israel from its territories.

It also called for the U.N. secretary-general to establish a "fact-finding mission" to probe Wednesday's attack in Beit Hanoun, a step below ordering a full investigation.

In addition, it backed off calls for U.N. observers to be placed on the Gaza-Israel border, asking instead for the "possible establishment of an international mechanism for protection of the civilian populations."