GAZA: SECURITY COUNCIL DROPS PRST AFTER LIBYA

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000085 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PTER KPAL KWBG UNSC IS SUBJECT: GAZA: SECURITY COUNCIL DROPS PRST AFTER LIBYA ISOLATED REF: A. KUMAR/PHEE/MEYER E-MAILS ¶B. USUN 75 ¶C. USUN 71 ¶D. USUN 65 ¶1. (SBU) After four days of negotiation on a draft Presidential Statement (PRST) on the situation in Gaza, in which USUN was initially isolated 14-1 but eventually persuaded all other delegations except Libya to support the U.S. position, Security Council Ambassadors met on January 29 and decided that it would be impossible for the UNSC to reach consensus on this issue and dropped the item from consideration. Before the Council consultations began, Amb Wolff and Libyan PR Ettalhi met to discuss the way forward, in light of the amendments proposed by Libya to the draft PRST agreed by fourteen delegations on January 25 (ref A). They agreed it would not be possible to reach consensus given the wide divergence in views represented in the January 25 text and the Libyan amendments. Ettalhi also told Amb Wolff that Libya would not/not table a draft resolution in place of the PRST. After the bilateral meeting, the Libyan PR informed the rest of the Council that it would not be possible to reach consensus, and Amb Wolff supported this view. ¶2. (SBU) Most of the other Council members expressed regret that the UNSC had been unable to pronounce itself on the situation in Gaza. Several delegations, including South Africa, Vietnam, Costa Rica, and Russia, said they could have accepted both the amended version of the PRST presented by Libya on January 28 as well as the draft supported by fourteen delegations on January 25. The UK and Belgium raised objections to the amendments presented by Libya, which deleted any condemnation of the rocket attacks against Israel and expressed concern about Israeli incursions into Gaza. UK Amb Sawers argued that the UNSC could not equate rocket attacks with acts of self-defense. Italy and PANAMA appealed to the U.S. and Libya to try again to reach consensus, but eventually agreed that such an effort would not succeed. ¶3. (SBU) Although Ettalhi told Amb Wolff that Libya would not/not table a resolution in lieu of the PRST, USUN has learned that Syria and Qatar pushed the Arab Group at the UN to meet on January 29 to consider, in light of the inability of the UNSC to reach consensus on a PRST, whether to raise the Gaza issue in a special session of the UNGA. WOLFF