SYRIA said on Sunday "blind bias" was behind threats against Iraq at a time when Israel violates U.N. resolutions, possesses nuclear weapons and uses U.S. weapons against Palestinians under occupation.

　　"Why should the world request Iraq to adhere to Security Council resolutions, while Israel is allowed to be above international law?" Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara told the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

　　U.S. President Bush told the U.N. last week that it must enforce U.N. resolutions against Iraq or unspecified action would be unavoidable. U.S. officials say ousting Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is the best solution.

　　Arab countries say they oppose the use of force against Iraq but Shara's speech was the strongest statement in New York so far of the Arab view that U.S. policies toward Iraq and Israel, a U.S. ally, show a double standard.

　　This year alone, the U.N. Security Council has demanded several times that Israel end its incursions into Palestinian cities, which have continued despite the calls.

　　Israel also blocked a U.N. attempt to investigate the facts about killings during Israeli actions inside a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank town of Hebron, saying it could not accept U.N. terms for the mission.

　　"It is indeed odd that the U.S. considers Israel acting in self-defense in occupied territories that are acknowledged to be occupied by Security Council resolutions which the U.S. played a role in drafting," he added.

　　Washington's main argument against Iraq is that it is developing weapons of mass destruction and may hand them over to extremists for use against the United States.

　　But Shara said: "It is regrettable that some parties only focus on certain Arab or Muslim countries, ignoring in the meantime the nuclear arsenal that Israel possesses."

　　Israel is reported to have 200 nuclear warheads but Israeli officials refuse to confirm or deny their existence.

　　Syria repeated an Arab offer to make the Middle East a region free of weapons of mass destruction, provided that Israel also agrees and opens its nuclear plants to inspection.