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US
Envoy Holds Talks Despite Row Over Arms Ship
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| Zinni on a
tough mission
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OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, Jan. 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. special envoy,
Anthony Zinni, was to hold a three-way security meeting with the Palestinians
and Israelis Sunday after his ceasefire efforts were knocked by Israel's seizure
of a major arms shipment, alleging it was heading for the Palestinian Authority.
Zinni, who has said he was "encouraged" by the progress already made
in two days of separate talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, was due to
host a meeting designed to examine practical steps to bolster a fragile truce
and wind down 15 months of bloodshed, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
However, the much-anticipated meeting of senior officials has been overshadowed
by the row over the seizure of a ship which Israel claimed was carrying 50 tons
of arms destined for the Palestinian Authority.
The
Palestinian Authority has denied any link to the shipment, although the Israeli
occupation army alleged the Karine A, intercepted by Israeli navy commandos
Thursday, was captained by a member of the Palestinian navy police.
An
Israeli military report claimed that the boat took on 50 tons of mainly Iranian
weapons at the Gulf island of Kish, near the Iranian coast.
The Israeli sources alleged the arms were stocked in 80 containers especially
built in Iran and destined to be floated into the Gaza coast, or to El-Arish in
Egypt to be smuggled into the Palestinian territories.
Israel
intercepted the ship around 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the coastline in the
Red Sea's international waters between Sudan and Saudi Arabia.
It said the cargo included Katyusha rockets with a 20-kilometer (12-mile) range
capable of reaching Tel Aviv from the West Bank, anti-tank rockets, mortar
shells, sniper rifles, mines and ammunition.
Israeli military intelligence has put the cost of the cargo at 15 million
dollars, the sources said, claiming that Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat,
must have been aware of the deal because of the sums involved.
Hawkish
Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, was due to inspect the ship later Sunday,
his office said.
The Palestinian Authority has vehemently denied any connection to the ship.
Palestinian President, Yasser Arafat, himself has refuted any link whatsoever to
the seized ship.
The
Palestinians consider the Israeli allegations as “propaganda.”
Palestinian Culture and Information Minister, Yasser Abd Rabbu referred to
Israel’s accusations and emphasized that Israel is trying to disturb Zinni’s
mission to the region by “diverting” attention from Israeli crimes against
the Palestinians.
Rabbu
said “it is clear that the Israelis picked Zinni’s arrival to announce on
the ship and to continue aggression and seige on the Palestinian occupied
territories”.
Moreover, Iran has denied any involvement in this incident. Soon after the
ship’s capture, Peres asked the international community to label Iran as a
“terrorist country”, according to KUNA news agency.
"It
is a totally false report which we categorically deny," Mohammad
Kasaei-Zadeh, head of Iran’s public relations for the Kish free zone
organization told AFP Sunday.
"No such boat could have moored off our coast," he added.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, dismissed charges that
Iran had shipped the arms to Palestine. He called them a “sheer lie”. Asefi
added that the “Zionist circles were apparently concerned about the
situational developments in Palestine and the consequences of the Intifada which
is threatening their existence as the main cause of tension...in the region.”
Asefi added that the Israelis are trying to create a platform to further
suppress the Palestinian people. He said that Israel used such “propaganda”
in order for the world to ease pressures on them to honor the basic rights of
the Palestinians.
Asefi warned against the recent propaganda campaign and mentioned that these
“baseless” claims are aimed at ruining the image of the Intifada. He called
upon the international community to put an end to “inhumane” measures Israel
was using against the Palestinian people.
Israel
has been giving maximum publicity to the case during Zinni's four-day visit,
with the Israeli press reporting that the Israeli occupation army is warning it
could boost right-wing efforts to delegitimise the Palestinian leadership.
After
meeting Peres Sunday Zinni said the priority was to "start countering
terrorism and ... start with security cooperation."
"It
is a long road and a long path, an my mission is clearly to start on that
path," the retired Marine Corps general said.
During his meeting with Zinni, the Palestinian
Local Authority Minister, Saeb Erekat, announced Saturday that the Israeli
Government did not approve the Mitchell Report Recommendations.
Erekat stated that there is a great difference
between the Israeli Prime Minister and his Foreign Minister.
The latest developments coincided with 114
countries, including Britain and the European Union, condemning Saturday Israeli
violations of the Geneva Convention resolution as well as its atrocities and
breaches to the international laws and resolutions, the Palestinian News Agency
WAFA reported.
Those countries who have signed the
International Geneva Convention resolution, concerning the protection of
citizens under occupation, since 1949, demanded Israel to abide by international
laws and resolutions, and to protect the citizens under its occupation.
They expressed their deep concern for the
deteriorating situation and condemned the Israeli settlement policy, considering
all settlements as illegal projects that should be dismantled.
They also demanded Israel to stop its
atrocities and its extreme aggression against the Palestinian people.
Israel, the United States of America and Australia
were the only three countries that boycotted the convention.
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