UN Memo Rips US on Mideast

Palestinian boycott exacts 'devastating consequences'
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 13, 2007 5:36 AM CDT
UN Memo Rips US on Mideast
A Palestinian militant from Hamas takes cover during a gun battle with Fatah militants in Gaza City, Tuesday, June 12, 2007. Hamas gunmen captured the headquarters of the Fatah-allied security forces in northern Gaza, seizing control of a key prize in the bloody power struggle between the sides, Hamas...   (Associated Press)

The UN's former Mideast envoy condemns US policy toward Israel in a secret report that rips America for having "pummeled the UN into submission," rendering it powerless as a negotiator on Mideast matters. The report, leaked to the Guardian, also labels the boycott of the Palestinian government a mistake,  and blasts Israel as "rejectionist."

The report, which comes as Gaza appears to be descending into civil war, is particularly critical of the international boycott, saying the UN is "imposing sanctions on a freely elected government " that's exacting "devastating consequences." At the same time, the report says, Palestinians' efforts at ending violence against Israel are "reprehensible at worst." (More United Nations stories.)

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