UN Condemns Israel, Ignores Hezbollah

While castigating Israel for the death of a Spanish peacekeeper during last week’s battle with Hezbollah, the UN Security Council did not censure the terror organization.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) harshly condemned Israel on Wednesday for the death of a Spanish UN peacekeeper who was killed last week near the Israeli-Lebanese border, reportedly by Israeli fire, during a battle with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah initially fired several anti-tank missiles at two IDF vehicles, killing two soldiers and wounding seven others. Cpl. Francisco Javier Soria Toledo, a Spanish UNIFIL soldier, was ostensibly killed when Israel returned fire toward the source of the attack. Israel expressed regret and had already launched a probe into the incident, but the UNSC nevertheless condemned Israel “in the strongest terms.”

The UNSC did not condemn the Hezbollah terror organization, which launched the cross-border attack and provoked the Israeli response.

In an email statement, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor declared: “The Security Council seems to think that some lives have more value than others.”

France reportedly drafted a statement on Tuesday condemning the Hezbollah attack on the Israeli soldiers as a violation of UN resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006, but the statement was blocked by Russia, which deemed it “unbalanced.”

In a written statement, the Security Council expressed its deepest sympathy to Toledo’s family and to the Government of Spain, saying it “looks forward to the immediate completion of UNIFIL’s full and comprehensive investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the incident.”

Following the exchange of fire, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman phoned his Spanish counterpart, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, to express his condolences over the death of the peacekeeper. Israel’s ambassador in Madrid also expressed regret to Spain’s foreign minister. However, Israel has not formally taken responsibility for the death.

Speaking to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences, saying that he and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had agreed to carry out a joint investigation into the matter.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzahi Hanegbi said that Israel’s relationship with UNIFIL and with the Spanish contingent was excellent. Israel is investigating the incident and will share the results with Spain, he said.

By World Israel News staff