Slideshow: Israeli troops invade Gaza Play Video Video: U.N. Shelter Hit in Gaza ABC News Play Video Video: Living beneath the bombs -- a Gaza reporter's account AFP AP – Palestinian firefighters work to try and put out a fire and save bags of food aid at the United Nations … GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel shelled the United Nations headquarters in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, engulfing the compound and a warehouse in fire and destroying thousands of pounds of food and humanitarian supplies intended for Palestinian refugees.

U.N. workers and Palestinian firefighters, some wearing bulletproof jackets, struggled to douse the flames and pull bags of food from the debris after the Israeli attack, which was another blow to efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Dense smoke billowed from the compound.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is in the region to end the devastating offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers, demanded a "full explanation" and said the Israeli defense minister told him there had been a "grave mistake."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the military fired artillery shells at the U.N. compound after Hamas militants opened fire from the location. Three people were wounded.

"It is absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologize for it," he said. "I don't think it should have happened and I'm very sorry."

A senior Israeli military officer had also said Israeli troops shelled the compound after coming under fire from Palestinian militants there — an account dismissed by a U.N. official there at the time as "nonsense."

Even as a top Israeli envoy went to Egypt to discuss a cease-fire proposal, the military pushed farther into Gaza in an apparent effort to step up pressure on Hamas. Ground forces thrust deep into a crowded neighborhood for the first time, sending terrified residents fleeing for cover. Shells also struck a hospital, five high-rise apartment buildings and a building housing media outlets in Gaza City, injuring several journalists.

Bullets also entered another building housing The Associated Press offices, entering a room where two staffers were working but wounding no one. The Foreign Press Association, representing journalists covering Israel and the Palestinian territories, demanded a halt to attacks on press buildings.

The army had collected the locations of media organizations at the outset of fighting to avoid such attacks.

Olmert's office said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned him on Thursday, and he told her Israel hoped Egyptian mediators could help bring about a cease-fire and an end to weapons smuggling. The statement said Rice, who leaves office on Jan. 20, said the U.S. was willing to help resolve the smuggling issue.

Israel launched its war on Dec. 27 in an effort to stop militant rocket fire from Gaza that has terrorized hundreds of thousands of Israelis. Some 1,100 Palestinians have been killed, roughly half of them civilians, according to U.N. and Palestinian medical officials. Gaza health official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said at least 70 people were killed or died of wounds throughout Gaza on Thursday.

Thirteen Israelis also have been killed since the campaign began. Israel says it will press ahead until Hamas halts the rocket fire and stops smuggling weapons into Gaza from neighboring Egypt.

Israeli police said 20 rockets hit southern Israel on Thursday, injuring 10 people. Five of the wounded were in a car that was struck in the city of Beersheba.

Officials from the Israeli military and Shin Bet security agency said Said Siam, the Hamas interior minister who controlled the militant group's feared security forces, was killed while hiding in his brother's home in Gaza City. Siam is considered to be among Hamas' top five leaders in Gaza.

The Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement by the military.

Palestinian medical officials confirmed the house was attacked, but there was no word from Hamas on Siam's fate.

The U.N. compound struck Thursday houses the U.N. Works and Relief Agency, which distributes food aid to hundreds of thousands of destitute Gazans in the tiny seaside territory of 1.4 million people.

"I conveyed my strong protest and outrage to the defense minister and foreign minister and demanded a full explanation," said Ban, who arrived in Israel on Thursday morning from Egypt.

It had only that morning become a makeshift shelter for 700 Gaza City residents seeking sanctuary from relentless Israeli shelling, U.N. officials in Gaza said.

John Ging, director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, said the attack at the compound caused a "massive explosion" that wounded three people.

A senior Israeli military officer said troops opened fire after militants inside the compound shot anti-tank weapons and machine guns. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal army announcement later in the day.

Ging, who was in the compound at the time, dismissed the Israeli account as "nonsense."

Israeli shells first hit the courtyard filled with refugees, then struck garages and the U.N.'s main warehouse, sending thousands of tons of food aid up in flames, Ging said. Later, fuel supplies went up in flames, sending a thick black plume of smoke into the air.

"It's a total disaster for us," Ging said, adding that the U.N. had warned the Israeli military that the compound was in peril from shelling that had begun overnight. U.N. officials say they have provided Israel with GPS coordinates of all U.N. installations in Gaza to prevent such attacks.

The refugees were moved to a school away from the immediate fighting, he said.

Separately, Israel shells landed next to a U.N. school in another Gaza City neighborhood, wounding 14 people who had sought sanctuary there, medics and firefighters said.

An Israeli attack near a U.N. school in northern Gaza earlier this month killed nearly 40 people. At the time, Israel said militants had fired on army positions from the beginning.

John Ging, director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, said the attack at the compound caused a "massive explosion" that wounded three people.

A senior Israeli military officer said troops opened fire after militants inside the compound shot anti-tank weapons and machine guns. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal army announcement later in the day.

Ging, who was in the compound at the time, dismissed the Israeli account as "nonsense."




That's John Ging, director of UNRWA operations in Gaza.

Israel calls him a liar!

Yeah,
There's Israel's respect for the UN!

The U.N. compound, made up of workshops and warehouses as well as offices, was struck about a half-dozen times over a roughly two-hour period while more than 700 civilians were sheltering there, said John Ging, head of Gaza operations for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.

The civilians were huddling in the compound's vocational training center when it was struck by a tank round or an artillery shell, causing the three injuries, Ging said. Throughout this time, he said, U.N. officials were frantically contacting Israeli officials to urge an end to the firing on the U.N. compound.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, visiting Israel, said Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told him the attack on the U.N. compound was a "grave" error and apologized for it.

"I conveyed my strong protest and outrage to the defense minister and foreign minister and demanded a full explanation," said Ban, who arrived Thursday from Egypt.

Israel's chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu, said the military had not clarified the incident and that an investigation was under way.

"If it becomes clear that we returned shots at the source of fire, we will say so, and if it turns out we operated by mistake, we will not hesitate to confess," Benayahu told Israeli television.

Ging described the Israeli claim as "total nonsense" and "typical misinformation."

U.N. officials said hundreds of people sheltering in the compound were forced to flee, and that the Israeli shells contained white phosphorus, an incendiary agent that can cause horrific injuries. After the shelling, fire spread to nearby fuel tankers in the compound, triggering another massive blast.

The U.N. compound distributes food aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the tiny seaside territory of 1.4 million people.

Ging said the U.N. had warned the Israeli military that the compound was in peril from shelling that had begun overnight. U.N. officials say they have provided Israel with GPS coordinates of all U.N. installations in Gaza to prevent such attacks.

The U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" and requested a briefing from U.N. officials.

"We are calling all parties to respect international humanitarian law and especially to ensure the protection of civilians," said Jean-Maurice Ripert, France's U.N. ambassador.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090116/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

Wait, we're supposed to have respect for the UN????

We're who?
Speak for yourself cowboy.

This was for you Karma!!

I do.

is this putting the myans on track




or is it

As long as Israel, or any nation, continues to have friends who will veto resolutions, refuse to sign resolutions or enforce resolutions which are counter to their aims there will always be such attitude towards the U.N.

Correct.
The UN has no bite without the US!

Or is it that the U.N. has no bite because of the U.S?

They could always act on their own.
What could we do?
They could kick us off the security council. What could we do?


They dont. They wont, because the EU has become weak and ineffective.
We are the muscle. We are the power. We are the UN!

The US is the only one who can stop Israel.
If we dont there will never be peace in the ME!

They can't. It's part of the U.N. Charter.


CHAPTER V
THE SECURITY COUNCIL
Article 23
1. The Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members of the United Nations. The Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America shall be permanent members of the Security Council. The General Assembly shall elect ten other Members of the United Nations to be non-permanent members of the Security Council, due regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the contribution of Members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable geographical distribution.




False.

United Nations

If you are correct then:

Which nation has used it's veto power the most? The U.S.

Which nation (prior to Bush0 was most in arrears in dues? The U.S.

Which nation has refused to sign the most Resolutions, Conventions, Declarations etc? The U.S.


Use of the Veto on United Nations Resolutions by the USA on Security Council and Votes in General Assembly.


A Partial list only

Afirms the rights of the Palestinians and calls on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories..Veto

Calls for self determination for the Palestinians.Veto

Condemns South Africa's attempts to impose apartheid on Namibia. Veto

Urges the permanent members (USA, USSR, UK, France, China) to insure United Nations decisions on the maintenance of international peace and security. Vote against

Demands that Israel desist from human rights violations. Vote against

Discusses sovereignty over national resources in occupied Arab territories. Vote against

Calls for protection of developing counties' exports.Vote against

For a United Nations Conference on Women.Vote against


Endorses the Program of Action for Second Half of United Nations Decade for Women. Vote against


Declaration of non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states. Vote against

Affirms the right of every state to choose its economic and social system in accord with the will of its people, without outside interference in whatever form it takes. Vote against


Urges negotiations on prohibition of chemical and biological weapons. Vote against


Declares that education, work, health care, proper nourishment, national development, etc are human rights. Vote against


Calls for the setting up of a World Charter for the protection of the ecology. Vote against



Prohibition of chemical and bacteriological weapons. Vote against


Protects against products harmful to health and the environment. Vote against



On the elimination of racial discrimination. Vote against


Opposition to the development of new weapons of mass destruction. Vote against


http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article2000.htm



The full listing is an eye opener. Everything from Rights for Women and Children to Nuclear Weapons testing is Vetoed or voted against.

Hamas attacked Israeli soldiers from the UNRWA facility with antitank fire. The immediate response was harsh. Again, the fault lies primarily with Hamas although Israel apologized.

Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Al-Qaida, Taliban and other terrorist organizations completely ignore the UN except as a means to politically manipulate those who they are trying to kill.

Incorrect!

IDF sources said Thursday afternoon that anti-tank missiles were fired at Israeli troops from the area of the UNRWA complex, prompting return fire. Five firefighting trucks were subsequently sent to the area from the Erez Crossing to help combat the blaze, according to the IDF.


Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters following a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Thursday afternoon that Hamas terrorists are deliberately positioning themselves next to U.N. buildings.

The Defense Minister said after the meeting, which included International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Jakob Kellenberger, that Hamas has continued to use Gaza civilians as human shields while "firing at IDF soldiers from next to U.N. installations."

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129445


There is a difference between 'receiving fire from' and 'receiving fire from area of'. That is the difference that costs civilian lives.

All your notes mean Karma is that the UN is ineffective unless the US votes with the others. The European nations have let their Armies dwindle to nothing. They have ignored defense spending to concentrate on domestic programs since WWII. Their threats have no bite. The UN forces as a whole have no bite.
Let's try it this way,
Say the UN cant force us out. If the US were to withdraw the UN would cease to exist as any credible agency. Who's Army would take the place of us? England? LMAO.
We could force the UN out of NY. WE are the UN whether you like it, admit it, or not.