B’nai B’rith International has condemned Lebanon for preventing the U.N. Security Council from issuing a presidential statement formally denouncing the Aug. 18 terrorist attacks in southern Israel. The Security Council statement was thwarted when Lebanon, a non-permanent member of the council, demanded it include criticism of Israeli “bombardment” of Gaza. Security Council presidential statements can only be issued with unanimous consent of all 15 council members.

“Israel has the basic right of any sovereign state to defend itself. To assert an equivalency in which the victim is challenged for defending itself is patently absurd,” said B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs. “This is yet another example of the United Nations turning a blind eye when it comes to attacks against the Jewish state and to portray her as an aggressor rather than the aggrieved party.”

The attacks last Thursday, which killed eight—including a family of four and Israeli soldiers—and injured at least 25, began when Palestinian terrorists from Gaza struck a bus near Eilat, followed shortly thereafter by the detonation of two nearby roadside bombs.

B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin called the actions of Lebanon “one more example of the hideous campaign to demonize and delegitimize Israel. One could expect nothing less to come from a country controlled by the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”