By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 10 -- In the UN Security Council on July 10, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that “eighty-eight Palestinians, many of them civilians, are reported to have been killed, and 339 injured.”
Afterward at the Security Council stakeout but off-camera, Palestine's Riyad Manour said the figure is over 90, in the last three days.
Inside the Council, Israel's Ron Prosor told Ban that while he had given his speech, five rockets had been fired at Israel (Prosor played a rocket warning siren on his phone, to make his point.) At the stakeout, on-camera, Prosor raised the number of rockets to six.
While Mansour spoke on camera, the stakeout was nearly full with journalists. But when Prosor spoke there were far fewer -- one of whom told Inner City Press, “This is a question for FUNCA,” the Free UN Coalition for Access. Again Prosor played the rocket siren warning, and used the line “From Abuja to Falluja.”
Inner City Press asked Prosor about those who say Hamas is not formally part of the unity government; he replied, “Hamas is Hamas.”
On Palestine joining or complaining to the International Criminal Court, Inner City Press' question which Ban Ki-moon dodged on July 9, Prosor did not answer. Yet.
Security Council members did not speak in the public session; they went behind closed doors. Will they emerge with a press statement? Elements to the press? Sound effects? Watch this site.
