The United States twice blocked a United Nations Security Council draft resolution on Thursday which expressed “deep concern at the recent incidents” that took place between Israel and Hezbollah across the Blue Line at Israel’s border with Lebanon.
Hezbollah fired three or four Kornet anti-tank missiles at an IDF military ambulance and an Israeli army base along the northern border. One of the missiles just barely missed the military vehicle.
The US called for Hezbollah to be specifically condemned in the text, and demanded that criticism of Israel be deleted, according to diplomatic sources who spoke with the AFP news agency.
The six-point statement, drawn up by France, failed to specifically condemn the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist organization and called on “all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities.”
The US said it would not back any statement that placed Israel’s right to self-defense on an equal footing with that of Hezbollah, which is listed there as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
The effort to pass the statement was eventually abandoned. Passage of a resolution by the UNSC requires the approval of all five permanent members of the Security Council; the United States is one of the five.