U.S. Blocks U.N. Resolution Equating Hezbollah with Israel in Border Flareup

The United States blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution on tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, on grounds that it presented a false equivalency between the two, according to an AFP report quoting diplomatic sources on Thursday.

A draft text drawn up by France, and seen by AFP, expressed “deep concern at the recent incidents” along the Israel-Lebanon border, and said “members of the security council condemned all violations of the Blue Line, both by air and ground, and strongly calls upon all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities.”

According to diplomats, Washington refused to go along, demanding that specific condemnation of Hezbollah aggression be included in the text.

Washington said it was impossible for it to endorse any statement putting Israel’s right to self-determination on an equal footing with Hezbollah, which it considers a “terrorist organization,” a diplomat explained.

Several other members of the security council quarreled with the American position, and the text was eventually scrapped.