Egypt says UN Security Council inability won't prevent denunciation of Israel

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Friday that the inability of the UN Security Council to carry out its duties wouldn't enable Israel to escape condemnation for its military offensive in Lebanon.

Abul Gheit was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying that there were several channels within the UN system to document "the flagrant Israeli violations".

He noted that the Organization of the Islamic Conference had decided to support an Egyptian initiative on an emergency meeting of the UN human rights council in Geneva to condemn Israel's actions in Lebanon.

Egypt had prepared a draft resolution to be forwarded to the Arab and Islamic groups in Geneva, with an aim to form a committee of international law experts to investigate Israeli targeting of civilians in Lebanon.

The 24-day-old Hezbollah-Israel conflict and the resulting heavy casualties of Lebanese civilians have raised uproar in Egypt.

Egyptians on the street were angry at Israel's continuing military offensive in Lebanon, especially after Israel's bombing of the southern Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday morning, which killed some 54 Lebanese civilians, most of them women and children.

Some Egyptians have taken to the streets several times since July 12 when the conflict erupted to protest against Israel's military operations in Lebanon.

The Egyptian government was under much pressure for its peace treaty with Israel and its close relations with the U.S.

Egypt was the first and the only two Arab nations -- the other being Jordan -- to have signed peace treaty with Israel.

Source: Xinhua