The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Friday asking Israel to pay Lebanon over US$850 million in damages for an oil spill caused by an Israeli air force attack on oil storage tanks during its war with Hezbollah in July 2006.
The assembly voted 170 to six in favor of the resolution, with three abstentions. Israel, the US, Canada, Australia, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands voted “no.”
General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do reflect world opinion. The resolution said the environmental disaster caused by the destruction of the tanks resulted in an oil slick that covered the entire Lebanese coastline and extended to Syria, causing extensive pollution.
Israel’s UN Mission said in a statement late on Friday that the resolution is biased against Israel.
“Israel immediately responded to the oil slick incident by cooperating closely with the United Nations Environment Program, as well as other UN agencies and NGOs [non-governmental organizations], addressing the environmental situation along the coast of Lebanon,” the statement said. “This resolution has long outlived the effects of the oil slick, and serves no purpose other than to contribute to institutionalizing an anti-Israel agenda at the UN.”
The assembly acknowledged the conclusions in an August report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that studies show the value of damage to Lebanon amounted to US$856.4 million this year. It asked Israel to provide “prompt and adequate compensation.”
The assembly also asked Ban to urge UN bodies and other organizations involved in the initial assessment to conduct a further study — building on work conducted by the World Bank — to measure and quantify the environmental damage sustained by neighboring nations.
The resolution said that “the secretary-general expressed grave concern at the lack of any acknowledgment on the part of the government of Israel of its responsibilities vis-a-vis reparations and compensation” to Lebanon and Syria for the oil spill.
It said that Ban concluded that the spill is not covered by any international oil spill compensation funds and therefore recognizes “that further consideration needs to be given to the option of securing the relevant compensation from the government of Israel.”
Lebanese Ambassador to the UN Nawaf Salam said his nation considers the resolution to be “major progress” because it puts forward a figure for compensation, acknowledges the conclusions of the secretary-general’s report.
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