Australia: Keeping poor company

Few would disagree that the shelling recently by Israelis of a house in Beit Hanoun, killing 19 people, 6 of whom were children, was a tragedy. Israel has even apologised citing a technical fault for the shelling.

It ill behoves Australia, then, to be voting with the US and a couple of minor world-players like Micronesia, to vote against a UN resolution condemning Israel for the Beit Hanoun attack. As reported Dawn the Internet:

"The UN General Assembly on Friday voted overwhelmingly to condemn Israel for "indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force" in its military offensive in Gaza which, according to the Palestinian ambassador, threatens to "destroy the entire people."

The resolution was passed by a vote of 156 to 7, with six abstentions. The US, Israel and Australia voted against the document while all the European Union members supported it.

The resolution "deeply deplores" the Israeli offensive, launched after the June capture of an Israel soldier, and calls on Israel to immediately halt its operation and pull its troops out of the Gaza Strip."

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