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January 5, 2009

US Blocks UN Call for Ceasefire in Gaza
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The United States blocked a UN Security Council statement on Saturday
calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

US Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff: “This Council has spoken on many
times about the concerns we had about Hamas’s military attacks on
Israel. The charter of this organization respects the right of every
member state to exercise its self-defense, and Israel’s self-defense is
not negotiable.”

The United Nations estimates Israeli forces have now killed at least 100
Palestinian civilians. Earlier today, a navy shelling off the coast of
Gaza killed a Palestinian family of seven inside the Shati refugee camp.
Israel says it is not targeting civilians, only seeking to halt rocket
fire from Hamas militants. Despite ten days of attacks, Hamas fighters
are continuing to fire rockets into Israel. On Sunday, New York Mayor
Mike Bloomberg was touring Sderot, Israel, when he had to be taken into
a bomb shelter due to a possible rocket attack. Bloomberg and New York
Police Chief Ray Kelly traveled to Israel to express their support for
Israel’s attack on Gaza.



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