Israel escapes Golan Heights penalty in UN
| United Nations, N.Y.
Syria had to shelve its resolution demanding sanctions against Israel for its annexation of the Golan Heights at the UN Security Council, writes Monitor special correspondent Louis Wiznitzer.
Syria did not get the nine votes needed to avoid rejection by the council. The resolution would have been repelled by a triple veto (US, Britain, and France) anyway because it invokes Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Intense US diplomatic efforts persuaded Zaire and Canada to abstain on the Syrian resolution even though its language had been somewhat soft.
For Syria, the failure to get nine votes in favor of its initiative represents a diplomatic defeat. Syria is expected this week to call for a special General Assembly session to deal with the problem of the Golan Heights. However, General Assembly resolutions are not binding.