23:00 Saturday) Arab League does not condemn bombing
By The Associated Press
All civilians should be protected and spared the Israeli-Palestinian violence, the head of the Arab League said today, a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Tel Aviv disco, killing 18 Israelis and wounding 90.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, however, stopped short of condemning the suicide bombing, the bloodiest in five years. Foreign ministers of Egypt and Jordan, two Arab nations that have peace treaties with Israel, condemned civilian killings, while radical Palestinian groups hailed the bombing as a show of Palestinian determination.
In a statement, Moussa said Israel's heavy hand dealing with the Palestinians only leads to stronger Palestinian resistance.
Moussa said civilians are paying the price for the collapse of the peace process. He called for peace talks to resume with US mediation.
In Jordan, Foreign Minister Abdul-Illah Khatib more directly condemned the disco bombing and urged Israel to "resort to the language of sanity and reason and refrain from being carried away in reactions that would only lead to escalating the crisis." (Note: Very gutsy on King Abdullah's part)
"Jordan condemns any action that targets innocent civilians no matter what the justification was and regrets that innocent civilians fell victim in the bombing attack in Tel Aviv," Khatib said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he was in contact with US, Palestinian and Israeli officials to try to contain the situation.
"Egypt has confirmed in the past that it condemns any attacks on civilians whether Palestinians or Israelis, taking into consideration that the number of civilian victims of Israeli actions is much higher than the Israeli victims. This clearly shows who the source of violence is," Maher told reporters.
Maher said he asked of Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres that Israel avoid any violent reaction that would increase tension in the region. Israeli violence, he said,
"increases the possibilities of counter-violence and the situation today should be handled with diplomacy and wisdom."
Syria's state-run Damascus radio said in a commentary that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised his people security but "came away with nothing but the death of any opportunity for peace, as expected, from a terrorist overburdened by crimes against Arabs."
Moussa, apparently referring to the likelihood of Israeli retaliation for the suicide bombing, said further reactions would only add to a vicious circle of violence. He also warned against pointing fingers of blame.
The Islamic Jihad representative in Lebanon said Saturday that Israel "will not dare to widen the scale of the conflict." (WANNA BET??)
"Any comprehensive military response against the Palestinian Authority or against our people in Palestine will push the entire region into a (united) front to
confront the Zionist entity," Abu Imad Al-Rifai told the privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation-International TV station.
In Syria, Damascus-based radical Palestinian groups blamed Israel.
Israel is responsible "because it has spared no weapon to repress the Palestinian people and to kill innocent civilians," said Ali Badwan, spokesman for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in a statement.
Moussa Abu Marzouk, member of Hamas' political bureau said, "It's the right of the Palestinian people, who are languishing under the Israeli occupation, to resist this occupation by all available means." He predicted further attacks.
Other groups echoed similar sentiments.
"Resistance in all its forms is legitimate according to the principles of international law and the Palestinian people would never surrender or accept occupation," Maher Taher of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, told reporters in Damascus.
He added that the United States shares the responsibility with Israel for the latest flare-up because of its silence over Israeli practices.
Lebanon's Hizbullah, which led a guerrilla war against Israeli forces in Lebanon, praised the attack in a statement issued after a meeting involving Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and Sheik Faisal Moulawi, secretary-general of the Islamic Grouping, a Lebanese Sunni Muslim fundamentalist group.
"Participants offer congratulations and blessing over the victorious suicide operation," the statement said, adding that the blast shows Palestinians' determination to "break the enemy's security and military measures."
jpost.com
********************************
24 hours to stop the violence Mr. Arafat.. 24 hours...
Monday morning should be prove interesting..
Hawk |
