US may veto security fence resolution
The US on Friday said it was against the new Arab-backed UN Security Council resolution challenging the legality of Israel’s construction of the controversial West Bank security fence.
The US may veto the resolution next week.
Israeli wants to extend the security fence further into West Bank territory to protect people in Jewish settlements vulnerable to suicide bomb attacks by Palestinian extremists.
Palestinians say the fence, the 267 miles-long “Berlin Wall,” is part of a plan to extend Israeli territory.
The State Department claimed the resolution was “unbalanced” as it failed to address the terrorism committed against Israelis.
Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the US opposed policies which pre-judged the outcome of Middle East negotiations.
John Dugard, a South African law professor and United Nations human rights investigator, said extension of the barrier in the West Bank was “illegal” and an “unlawful act of annexation.”
