On the eve of new Israeli-Palestinian talks, the 15-nation UN Security Council defeated a Palestinian demand for a UN observer force to help calm the Middle East violence. The resolution calling for military and police observers in the West Bank and Gaza received eight votes late on Monday, one short of the minimum required for adoption.
Voting in favour were Namibia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Jamaica, Tunisia, Mali, Ukraine and China. The other seven council members, the US, Russia, Britain, France, Argentina, the Netherlands and Canada, abstained, saying the measure could jeopardise yesterday's talks in Washington involving Israeli and Palestinian negotiators.
But, with the exception of the United States, they said that, while some third-party presence was needed, the timing was not right.
"This decision was not an easy one for us as sponsors of the peace process," said the Russian ambassador, Mr Sergei Lavrov, whose position was considered key in tipping the vote. "However, we are convinced that establishing an international presence in the occupied territories can only be done under conditions in which the two parties will agree. We will continue to try to reach that objective."
The US envoy, Mr James Cunningham, said he would have vetoed the measure had it gathered more support, a move that could have further inflamed sentiment in the Middle East. But he did not have to take such action and abstained instead.
The British ambassador, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, said there needed to be some international third-party presence on the ground. But, he said, "there's no point in driving the car into a brick wall just because it makes a nice noise".
For about six weeks the Palestinians and their supporters on the council have been trying to get support for UN military observers and police to protect civilians. They had wanted a force of 2,000 but then modified the resolution without giving any figures.
Israel yesterday hailed the decision, while Palestinians expressed disappointment.
Israel's Foreign Ministry director-general, Mr Alon Liel, said the decision was one of Israel's biggest diplomatic victories at the UN in almost two decades.
Mr Nabil Abu Rdainah, a senior aide to the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, said: "We regret that the Security Council could not take a decision to protect the Palestinian people."