Several diplomats walked out of a United Nations Security Council session after Libya’s Ambassador compared Gazan Arabs to victims of the Holocaust.
Diplomats reported from the closed session that Libya's deputy permanent UN representative, Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi, "compared the situation in Gaza to the Nazi Holocaust," according to Reuters news agency.
A “Western diplomat” quoted in the report said that "afterwards, the Western envoys stood up and left the room in protest."
The diplomats who left the Security Council hall were America, French, British, Belgian and Costa Rican. The meeting concluded after the walkout, with South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo telling reporters that an agreement had failed to be reached.
The Libyan statement was made during a discussion of a draft statement, proposed by Libya itself, expressing “serious concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
"A number of Council members were dismayed by the approach taken by Libya and do not believe that such language helps advance the peace process,” British official Karen Pierce said.
Syria stepped in to defend Libya, with Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari telling reporters, "Unfortunately, those who complain of being victims of genocide are repeating the same kind of genocide against the Palestinians," according to the Los Angeles Times.