|
Israel Defies Stinging U.S. Demand To Withdraw from Palestinian Land
JERUSALEM, Oct 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Ignoring stiff U.S. criticism of its invasion of six West Bank towns, Israel continued its military campaign in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank, a senior member of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, was killed Monday in an explosion in Nablus, the apparent victim of Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian leaders, which it calls "targeted killings."
Palestinians also said Israeli special forces disguised as Palestinians seized an activist of the Islamic Jihad group outside his home in a Palestinian-controlled area near Hebron in the West Bank.
Also, in the West Bank town of Qalqilya, Israeli tanks demolished the family house of a Hamas member. The Palestinians also
reported that Israeli shelling had hit a religious hospital in Bethlehem.
In the Gaza Strip, Israeli bulldozers destroyed 12 shops, including a supermarket, and six homes. The Israeli army claimed it had razed the dwellings because they were allegedly being used by Palestinian snipers in an area already under Israeli control.
Israeli forces swept into major Palestinian towns last week with tanks and troops under the auspices of forcing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to hand over the suspected killers of Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi.
Late Monday, the United States delivered one of its sternest rebukes yet to the Jewish state, telling its ally to get out of Palestinian areas and stay out.
State Department spokesman Philip Reeker condemned "Israeli defense force actions that have killed numerous Palestinian civilians over the weekend."
"Israeli defense forces should be withdrawn immediately from all Palestinian-controlled areas and no further such incursions should be made," he added.
Reeker termed as "unacceptable" the deaths of "innocent civilians" and said the Israeli incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas have "contributed to a significant escalation in tension and violence."
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the U.S. demand was "out of line".
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres insist their troops will withdraw once Zeevi's killers have been extradited, blaming Arafat for forcing them into the invasions.
Foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that by failing to extradite the killers, Arafat "is literally forcing us to take the necessary steps to defend ourselves. We are exercising our duty of self-defense."
"If there is an obstacle to the coalition against terrorism, then the responsibility sits squarely with Arafat," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Palestinian Authority has arrested 30 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in connection with the killing and has outlawed the military wing of the group. But the P.A. has refused to extradite them to Israel.
The massive operation sparked gunbattles on the streets, which have left around 30 Palestinians dead and several Israeli soldiers injured since October 18.
The continuing Israeli incursions into Palestinian-ruled areas have re-ignited political tensions in the region. They have also complicated U.S. efforts to consolidate Arab and Muslim political support for its military campaign in Afghanistan.
In Jerusalem, Christian church leaders led several thousands protestors through the town calling for an end to the Israeli aggressions. At the same time, tens of thousands of right-wing Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem in favor of expelling Arafat from the region, comparing him to terror suspect Osama bin Laden.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Washington must tackle the Middle East crisis if it wants to tackle global terror groups effectively.
"We are living in an unhealthy situation ... If you sort out the Palestinian problem, you will empty a reservoir of terrorism," the minister said.
|
