UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Reacting to Israeli attacks on the Palestinian Authority and a U.S. veto in the Security Council, the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday backed a central role for Yasser Arafat in diplomatic efforts to end 15 months of Middle East violence.
The 189-nation assembly met in an emergency special session after Washington, Israel's closest ally, last Saturday vetoed a Security Council resolution stating that the Palestinian Authority was essential to the peace process.
Following recent Israeli military strikes on Palestinian Authority targets and its declaration that Arafat was ''irrelevant,'' one resolution approved by the assembly on Thursday stressed Arafat's administration ``remains the indispensable and legitimate party for peace and needs to be preserved fully.''
Identical to the resolution vetoed last week by Washington, it also branded Israeli settlements in Palestinian areas ``as illegal and an obstacle to peace.''
It was approved 124-6 with 25 abstentions. The Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Tuvalu joined Israel and the United States in voting 'no', while most European nations voted for the resolution. Among those abstaining were Britain, Japan, Australia, Norway, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia.
A second assembly resolution, approved by a 133-4 vote with 16 abstentions, endorsed a declaration adopted by an international conference in Geneva on Dec. 5 calling on ``the occupying power'' -- Israel -- to refrain from ``willful killing, torture (and) unjustified restrictions of free movement.''
Just the Marshall Islands and Micronesia joined the United States and Israel in opposing the second resolution. Major Western industrial countries generally voted in favor except for Australia and Canada, which abstained.