UNITED NATIONS/JEDDAH, 21 August — The Palestinian Authority rebuked the UN Security Council and the United States yesterday for not taking action to place monitors in the West Bank and Gaza, saying this contributed to the past 11 months of violence. But Washington, which has veto power in the 15-member Council, again backed Israel in a public debate and said a proposed Palestinian resolution calling for monitors was one-sided and unworkable.

Because of US objections, many non-Islamic countries were not anxious to push any resolution to a vote and some, such as Russia, were silent on monitors or observers. So was Singapore’s Christine Lee, current coordinator of the seven non-aligned members of the Council, which in the past supported monitors.

Saudi Arabia yesterday urged the UN Council and the US to make every practical effort to bring to a halt the injustices being suffered by the Palestinians and to help them get the protection, independence and freedom they deserve. The weekly Cabinet meeting in Jeddah, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, stressed the need for the Arab media to come to the aid of the Palestinian cause by publicizing their cause and suffering to the rest of the world.

The Kingdom again denounced the Israeli military campaign against unarmed Palestinian civilians. “The Israelis use various weapons to suppress the Palestinians, who are only calling for independence and protection of their land and heritage,” the Cabinet said.

Opening the debate in the United Nations, requested by Islamic nations, Nasser Al-Kidwa, the chief PA observer at the UN, said the escalation of violence might have been avoided had the 15-member body lived up to its responsibilities by taking specific measures blocked by the United States months ago.

“Frankly, it seems to be that there is something fundamentally wrong,” he said. Al-Kidwa has drafted a resolution for an undefined “monitoring mechanism,” which he said should “help create a better situation on the ground.”

The meeting was called by the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Conference and will give all UN members a chance to voice views. But it is doubtful the Council can even agree on a statement, much less a resolution, diplomats said.

US representative James Cunningham said, “It is precisely because of the gravity of events on the ground that we question the appropriateness and effectiveness of any action here in New York.”

“What is required now is not rhetoric, not debate that polarizes an already volatile situation, and certainly not an effort to condemn one side with unbalanced charges or to impose unworkable ideas that will not change the reality on the ground,” Cunningham told the Council.

Every speaker advocated implementation of proposals drafted last March by an international commission, headed by former US Sen. George Mitchell. They include a cooling-off period, confidence-building measures and a resumption of peace talks.

Some Europeans criticized all sides. Typical was Britain’s envoy, Stewart Eldon, who said Israelis doubted the Palestinian Authority was a true peace partner while Palestinians doubted Israel was willing to move the negotiations forward.

Eldon said the Palestinian Authority had to “make a 100 percent effort” to reduce violence and preempt bombings. Israel had to restrain its use of force, lift closures crippling the Palestinians civilians and end a policy of assassinating Palestinian militants, he said.

Earlier in the day, Israeli bulldozers demolished an unfinished nursery school and an apartment block in Arab East Jerusalem in a move Palestinians said was part of Israel’s escalating violence against them. Dozens of Israeli police guarded at least three bulldozers as they flattened the block of eight apartments and the kindergarten, which were both under construction.

Hatem Abdel-Qader, a leading Palestinian lawmaker, said the demolition was part of “Israel’s continued aggression”. “We build and they demolish. This is the equation of the struggle for survival in the city of Jerusalem,” he said.

Rabbi Arik Ascherman, an Israeli human rights activist who protested at the site of yesterday’s demolition, condemned Israel for tearing down Palestinian houses while expanding Jewish settlements on occupied land. “It’s part of a deliberate effort to prevent Palestinians from living in Jerusalem,” he said.

A European observer force in the divided West Bank city of Hebron, meanwhile, has suspended patrols in the city’s Jewish enclave after attacks by Jewish settlers, a spokeswoman for the group said yesterday. She said the unarmed force, the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, informed Israeli and Palestinian security officials on Sunday that it had withdrawn from the Israeli-controlled heart of the city, known as H2.