The US, Britain, France and other members walked out of a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council after Libya compared the situation in Gaza to Nazi concentration camps in World War II. Diplomats said France's UN ambassador walked out first, followed by several of his colleagues, after the Libyan envoy made the remarks during a debate on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Council members were meeting privately to discuss the possibility of issuing a compromise press statement that would have highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza while also contributing positively to efforts to reach an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.
Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy UN ambassador, reportedly ended a long speech about the plight of the Palestinians by comparing the situation in Gaza to the concentration camps set up by Nazi Germany to exterminate Jews. Immediately after Dabbashi made his remarks, the ambassadors of France, the United States, Britain, Belgium and Costa Rica walked out of the council chamber. Dumisani Kumalo, South Africa's UN ambassador and the current president, of the Security Council, then closed the meeting. He afterwards told reporters that members "could not agree" on the statement.
