'UNSC statement, humanity betrayal'

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=128739§ionid=351020202


Hamas has lashed out at the UN Security Council's statement on the Israeli attack on a Gaza aid convoy, urging all states to cut their diplomatic ties with Israel.

On Monday, Israel launched a deadly commando attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy in international waters, which left nearly 20 people killed and more than 50 others injured.

The attack drew a wave of shock and widespread protests across the world and prompting several countries to summon Israeli ambassadors.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting in which the 15-nation body called for an "impartial, credible and transparent" probe into the incident and condemned "those acts which resulted in the loss of ... civilians and many wounded."

"What the Security Council did today, under the shadow of a US veto, pressure and bias, is a betrayal for humanity and not just for the people of Gaza and the supporters," Reuters quoted Head of Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Meshaal as saying on Tuesday.

Israel must be punished "... and we call for the trial of (Israeli Defense Minister Ehud) Barak, (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and all Zionist leaders as war criminals," he urged.

The senior Hamas leader also called on all states to cut "all their relations and contacts in all shapes and levels with the Zionist entity," warning that "contacts and relations with Israel is a reward for their crimes."

Meshaal called on US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to "take the bold initiative of a historic decision to break the blockade on Gaza and force Israel to do that."

He also called on Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing -- the only one not under Israeli control, noting the siege has "failed as a political tool in forcing Gaza and Hamas and the resistance to succumb."

The European Union, the Organization of Islamic Conference and Russia are among those who have demanded an inquiry into the Israeli military attack against the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and an end to the embargo — a demand Israel defiantly rejected on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the White House has only expressed "regret" at the loss of lives and the injuries resulted by the Israeli forces' use of violence but stopped short of specifically condemning the attack.