Israel’s Foreign Ministry has asked Argentina for clarifications regarding its recent support for a United Nations inquiry into the conduct of the Jewish state during last month’s fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Argentina’s ambassador to Israel, Sergio Urribarri, was summoned by the ministry on Tuesday to explain why his country’s representative at the U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in May voted in favor of establishing a special commission that would look into possible war crimes carried out by Israel and Hamas during the 11-day hostilities. The text of the resolution focuses mainly on Israeli activities and is likely to result in a biased report.
The vote at the council was supported by 24 members and opposed by nine. Fourteen abstained. Israel will most likely boycott the commission because of its expected bias in favor of Hamas. Modi Ephraim, the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Latin America and Caribbean division, told the press on Monday that Argentina’s support for the lopsided resolution that ignored Hamas and its rocket fire on Israel was unacceptable. He added that in the wake of Argentina’s own experience with terrorism perpetrated by Iran and Hezbollah, having it support such a move was beyond the pale. Israel also asked the ambassador from the Philippines to explain his country’s support for the move in a similar meeting at the ministry in May, with an Israeli official there saying the ambassador was told the vote was a prize for terrorism.
Israel also voiced its dismay to France’s ambassador several days ago after the French foreign ministry said it could become an “apartheid state.”
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
