The reason that the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting about the situation in Syria was not the “systematic prosecution of minorities in Syria and the dangerous consequences that extend far beyond its borders,” Jonathan Miller, the deputy Israeli ambassador to the global body, told the council on Thursday.
The meeting was “a politically motivated move” to condemn Israel while the council ignored the “serious crisis” that has unfolded in Syria in the past two months, Miller said.
“Civilians murdered and slaughtered in cold blood. Communities decimated. Elders stripped of their humanity and mocked, cultural heritage erased,” he told the council. “This is not incidental. Unfortunately, it is emerging as a pattern.”
Sweida, a majority-Druze city, has been the site of reported executions, rapes and degrading treatment in clashes with Bedouin tribes over the past week. The Syrian government said it sought to restore order, but Israel accused it of adding to the bloodshed. Many Israeli Druze crossed the border in an attempt to help, leading to a fear of escalating violence.
The Syrian interior ministry announced a ceasefire on Thursday.
An Israeli official reportedly said on Friday that Syrian internal security forces would be allowed limited access to Suweida for two days to help quell renewed clashes as thousands more Bedouin fighters entered the area.
Israel carried out air strikes on “jihadist militants” due to the Jewish state’s “unwavering moral obligation to safeguard the Druze population, with whom we share deep historic and national bonds.”
“Their pain is our pain,” he said. “Their safety is our concern.”
Israel doesn’t intend to get involved in internal Syrian politics. “Our interests are limited, clear and legitimate,” Miller said. “We seek to maintain reasonable stability on our northern border.”
Members of the council called for probes of the attacks on the Druze. Many attacked Israel as well.
Khaled Khiari, assistant U.N. secretary‑general for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, said Israeli strikes on Syrian government office buildings, military installations and near the presidential palace are “escalatory.”
“In addition to violating Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Israel’s actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region, and further destabilize Syria at a sensitive time,” the U.N. official said.
Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian envoy to the global body, said his country condemns the Israeli strikes “unequivocally.”
Barbara Woodward, the British envoy to the United Nations, said “we are deeply concerned by Israel’s escalatory strikes in Damascus.”
“We repeat our call for Israel to refrain from actions that risk destabilizing Syria and the wider region,” she said.
Jérôme Bonnafont, the French ambassador to the United Nations, told the council something similar, stating that Syria is “eager” for “peaceful relations with its neighbors.”
“Everything must be done to help Syria become a center of stability in the Middle East,” he said.
Koussay Aldahhak, the Syrian envoy to the global body, accused Israel of using sectarian violence as “pretexts” for military actions and “seizing natural resources.”
The United States, which lifted some sanctions and foreign terrorist organization designations to grant legitimacy to the Syrian government, called on it “to lead on determining the path forward.”
“While the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes, we are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between two sovereign states,” said Dorothy Shea, the U.S. interim ambassador to the United Nations.