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Hamas denounces U.S. veto on Gaza

Gaza City: The Palestinians' ruling Hamas Party on Sunday denounced the U.S. for vetoing a U.N. Security Council draft resolution condemning an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and demanding an Israeli troop withdrawal from the territory.

``The American veto represents a political and moral aggression against our people and national cause, an ugly act of racism, and a direct encouragement of the Zionist enemy to commit more crimes and massacres,'' it said in a statement.

The draft resolution was brought before the Security Council after errant Israeli shells slammed into an apartment compound in Gaza, killing 19 civilians.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the Arab-backed proposal was ``biased against Israel and politically motivated.''

"One-sided"

In Damascus, a Syrian newspaper al-Baath said, ``The U.S. administration by using the veto has directed a new slap to the international community's efforts to name things by their names: an Israeli aggressor and a Palestinian victim.''

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the resolution backed by Arab, Islamic and non-aligned nations served ``a one-sided political agenda'' and included an unsubstantiated claim that Israel had violated international law. — Agencies

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