The UN General Assembly called for an end to Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, overwhelmingly passing a resolution in an emergency special session the Israeli ambassador blasted as a "farce" and a "circus." The Arab League had asked for the session after the United States vetoed a similar, but watered-down UN Security Council draft resolution against Israel's actions last weekend - its second veto on the matter this year. The resolution passed Friday by a vote of 156 to 7, with six abstentions. The US, Israel and Australia voted against the document, along with four Pacific island nations. All the European Union members supported the resolution after last-minute changes were made to soften the tone of the text. There are no vetoes in the 192-member General Assembly, and the chamber's resolutions are nonbinding, considered more a reflection of international opinion.
The Palestinian UN observer, Riyad Mansour, said earlier that Israel had committed war crimes against Palestinian civilians in its nearly five-month offensive, which Israel says is aimed at stopping militants from firing rockets from Gaza into its territory. Mansour said 82 Palestinians were killed during a six-day Israeli assault on the town of Beit Hanoun this month, including 19 members of an extended family who died in an early-morning artillery attack on Nov. 8. "What is required is serious and firm action in response to these crimes, especially the massacre in Beit Hanoun, as well as putting an end to this rampant Israeli campaign, which intends to destroy an entire people," Mansour told the General Assembly.