Europeans React to Mideast Crisis
The New York Times
March 30, 2002
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 11:47 p.m. ET
MOSCOW (AP) -- European
nations demanded on Saturday
that Israel immediately comply
with a U.N. Security Council
resolution and end its siege of
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's
compound.
From Moscow to Paris, European governments also
warned Israel that it can not disregard Arafat, whom the
Israelis blame for not doing enough to stop a series of
deadly attacks against Israeli citizens.
``It would be a grave mistake to imagine that the
elimination of Yasser Arafat, the president of the
Palestinian Authority, could lead to anything positive,''
French President Jacques Chirac told RTL radio.
Israel has said it doesn't intend to harm Arafat but insists
the raid on his offices is necessary to stop Palestinian
militant attacks. In the third such attack in four days, a
suicide bomber blew himself up in a Tel Aviv cafe
Saturday, wounding 29 people. On Wednesday, the
suicide bombing of a Passover meal in Netanya killed 22
people.
The Israeli siege provoked a second day of protests across
the Middle East. Burning American and Israeli flags, tens
of thousands of protesters took to streets in Iraq, Lebanon,
Libya and Yemen on Saturday. Smaller anti-Israeli
demonstrations were held in Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain,
Syria and Kuwait.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, joined other
members of the U.N. Security Council in approving the
resolution Saturday. President Bush, speaking from his
ranch in Texas after the 14-0 vote, said Arafat ``can do a
lot more'' to prevent attacks against Israelis and that the
United States supports Israel's right to defend itself.
The resolution calls on Israel to withdraw its forces from
Ramallah and other Palestinian cities and urges both
sides to fully cooperate with U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni to
work on a cease-fire and start negotiations for a political
settlement.
``Russia demands that the parties fully and immediately
observe all provisions of this resolution,'' Russian Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov said Saturday, adding that he was
immediately instructing Russia's envoy to the Middle
East, Andrei Vdovin, to initiate talks with both sides.
``The international community must ensure that an end
be put to this insanity, which daily claims human lives
and is fraught with catastrophe for everybody,'' Ivanov
said. ``It is necessary to make joint efforts to help the
Israeli and Palestinian peoples to find a way out of this
tragedy.''
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, whose country
holds the temporary presidency of the European Union,
said the Israeli siege of Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah
``will exacerbate a situation which is already causing great
instability and most of all a huge number of mortal
victims.''
``Nothing will be gained'' by the destruction of the
Palestine National Authority, Aznar told reporters while
vacationing in the southern Spanish town of Sanlucar de
Barrameda.
In Paris, more than 1,000 people demonstrated against
the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, many
carrying Palestinian flags and chanting anti-Israel
slogans. Similar demonstrations were held in several
smaller French cities, and in the German capital, Berlin.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sent a message to
Arafat, through the Italian consul-general in Jerusalem,
to ``express his concern over the dramatic developments of
the last hours and his hope that all violence stop
immediately.''
In Athens, Greece, a cross-party group of lawmakers
delivered a letter of protest to the Israeli Embassy about
the Israeli troop movements.
``Any attempt against the life of Yasser Arafat will lead to
extensive bloodshed in the region,'' said Theodoros
Pangalos, a former foreign minister, representing Greece's
governing Socialist party.
In Turkey, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit warned that
Israel's actions threatened the whole of the Middle East.
Ecevit called on the United States, usually Israel's
strongest ally, to reign in Sharon's government.
Ecevit said the U.N. resolution could only be effective if
``the United States delivers a serious warning to the Israeli
prime minister.''
Muslim Turkey has developed close military ties with
Israel in recent years but also has good relations with the
Palestinians.
In the Arab world, the support for the Palestinians was
unqualified and angry. Jordan's King Abdullah II used a
telephone conversation with Bush to urge him to ``swiftly''
intercede with Israel to end its ``aggression on the
Palestinian people and the siege on President Arafat.''
Following an emergency Arab League meeting,
Secretary-General Amr Moussa said Arab states disagreed
with U.S. calls for Arafat to rein in Palestinian militants.
``How (can Arafat act first) while Israeli troops are few
meters (yards) away from his office ... This is a surrender,''
Moussa said Saturday.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he was
disappointed that the U.N. Security Council resolution
was not stronger, but he added that Israel must abide by
the ruling.
``I hope all would realize the importance of making Israel
listen and stop this aggression,'' Maher said.
In Britain, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw appealed to both
sides to show restraint.
``It can only be through negotiation that there will ever be
a peaceful future for the citizens of Israel, for the
Palestinians and for everyone in the region,'' Straw said.
In Los Angeles about 300 pro-Palestinian protesters
marched, chanted carried signs decrying ``Israeli terror.''
A small group of Jews returning from Passover services
started a counter protest nearby, but police said the
demonstrations were peaceful.
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