United Nations, 13 Sept

Pakistan cannot change the fact that Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden was sheltered and killed on its soil, Israel has said, as it lashed out at Islamabad in the UN Security Council for its "double standards".

"When bin Laden was eliminated in Pakistan," Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Danny Danon said, pointing his hand towards Pakistan's UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, “the question asked was not 'why target a terrorist on foreign soil'?"

"No one asked that question. The question was, 'Why was a terrorist given shelter at all?' The same question must be asked today. There was no immunity for bin Laden, and there can be no immunity for Hamas,” Danon said.

The sharp exchange between the envoys of Israel and Pakistan came on Thursday at a Security Council meeting held to discuss the Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital of Doha.

In his remarks, Ahmad strongly condemned what he called Israel’s “illegal and unprovoked aggression” against Qatar, terming it part of a "broader and consistent pattern of aggression" that undermines regional peace.

The Pakistani envoy accused Israel of repeatedly violating international law through "brutal" military actions in Gaza, and repeated cross-border strikes in Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Yemen.

The UNSC meeting took place on the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City, orchestrated by bin Laden.

Danon said "that tragic day (9/11), like 7 October for Israel, was a day of fire and blood".

He recalled that in the days following the 9/11 attacks, the Security Council had adopted a resolution, which stated that no nation may harbour terrorists, nor fund them and give them haven.

“Any government that does so breaks this Council’s binding obligations. That principle was clear then; it must be upheld today,” the Israeli envoy said.

Ahmad took the floor again to respond to Danon's statement.

"It is unacceptable, indeed ludicrous for an aggressor, an occupier, a serial violator of the UN Charter and international law, that is Israel, to abuse this chamber and disrespect the sanctity of this Council. This is not the first time. And by pointing fingers at others, baseless assertions primarily aimed at masking its own illegal actions and violations of international law,” he said.

In a strong retort, Danon said if the Pakistani envoy wanted to read the statement, he could have done it at the beginning of the session.

“The fact is that Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, and no one condemned the US. And when other countries in this Council attack terrorists, no one condemns them. And that is the issue of double standards. When you apply different standards to Israel than the standards you apply to yourselves, that is the problem of this institution.

"...you cannot change the fact that 9/11 happened... You cannot change the fact that Osama bin Laden was in Pakistan, and he was killed on your territory. But I would ask you, when you criticise us, and I'm sure it will continue in the future, think about the issue of double standards, which standards you apply to your country and which standards you apply to Israel,” Danon said.

US forces eliminated bin Laden in a special operation conducted in May 2011 at Abbottabad in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Al-Qaeda leader had been hiding.