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ýý"This type of action does not contribute at all to create the conditions of ýpeace," said Solana (AFP)ý
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WORLD
CAPITALS, March 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) –
Israel’s assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin
on his way back home after the dawn prayers on Monday, March 22, has
drawn an international outcry.
European
foreign policy chief Javier Solana condemned the assassination as
"very, very bad news" for the Middle East peace process,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"This
type of action does not contribute at all to create the conditions of
peace," Solana told reporters on arrival at a meeting of European
foreign ministers in Brussels.
The
67-year-old wheelchair-bound Yassin – a long-time
struggler against Israeli occupation - was killed in an Israeli
helicopter strike in Gaza City, prompting a declaration of an all-out
war against Israel from all Palestinian resistance groups.
"Once
again, the EU has condemned and will continue to condemn this type of
actions," Solana stressed.
‘Unlawful’
A
number of European countries also lashed out at the Israeli operation,
warning against grave escalations.
British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw dismissed as "unacceptable" the
assassination of the aging Hamas spiritual leader.
Israel
"is not entitled to going for this kind of unlawful killing and
we therefore condemn it," Straw said.
"It
is unacceptable. It is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve
its objective," said the top British diplomat.
"A
measurable restraint is required and I don't believe Israel will
benefit from the fact that this morning an (elderly man) in a
wheelchair has been the target of assassination," Straw stressed.
Danish
Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller also reiterated his country's
opposition to the Israeli assassination.
"As
you know we are against extra-judicial killings. Terror and violence
and retaliation is not the way ahead," Moeller said.
‘Deeply
Concerned’
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ý"The situation is that everything must be done so that further escalation can ýbe avoided," said Fischer ý
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German
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said he was "deeply
concerned" by the Israeli assassination.
"The
situation is that everything must be done so that further escalation
can be avoided," he said.
Fischer
is a frequent visitor to the Middle East where he has been able to
gain the trust of both the Palestinian and the Israeli sides.
He
said European foreign ministers would discuss the latest developments,
noting that "the situation needs careful analysis".
In
Paris, French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin denounced the
killing of the quadriplegic Hamas leader as a setback for the Middle
East peace process.
Russian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko warned that the
assassination "threatens a new wave of violence which could
sabotage efforts to restart negotiations between the Palestinians and
Israelis by the quartet of international mediators and key regional
powers".
"Moscow
is deeply concerned about the situation," read the foreign
ministry statement.
Polish
Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said the assassination is
"not the best way of promoting Israeli security".
Norwegian
counterpart Jan Petersen said he "condemned" the killing.
Protests
& Withdrawal
Arab
peoples reacted with condemnation and mass student protests calling
for retaliation.
Arab
League Secretary General Amr Moussa branded the Israeli assassination
of Sheikh Yassin as "state terrorism in its most hideous
form".
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Israel "is not entitled to going for this kind of unlawful killing," said Straw
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Moussa,
now in Tunis to prepare for the Arab Summit due on March 29-30, gave
no word whether the killing would be on the agenda of talks.
In
Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called off his country’s
participation in celebrations marking the signing of a peace deal with
Israel in Tel Aviv, as university students demonstrated calling for a
firm response.
"We
condemn this cowardly aggression, and I am suspending the
participation of Egypt in the celebrations," Mubarak told
reporters.
"Sharon,
coward, Yassin's blood is not worthless," shouted students at
Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
They
urged Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades to "avenge" the
assassination of Hamas spiritual leader.
Security
was reinforced around the U.S. and British embassies in Cairo and
police vehicles were deployed on Tahrir Square in downtown where a
demonstration against the U.S. occupation of Iraq took place a day
earlier.
Thousands
of Yemeni students also protested the assassination of Sheikh Yassin,
while the government issued an official condemnation.
Crime
The
Jordanian government condemned the Israeli operation as a
"serious escalation" of the Middle East conflict.
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ý" I am suspending the participation of Egypt in the (Camp David anniversary) ýcelebrations," Mubarak said ý
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Prime
Minister Faisal al-Fayez said the assassination of Sheikh Yassin was
"a new crime against the Palestinian people, and a serious
violation of rights and (international) conventions".
It
would "increase violence and instability in the region,"
said Fayez, whose country has a 1994 peace treaty with Israel.
‘Terrorist’
Iran
also slammed the killing of Yassin as an act of state-sponsored
terrorism against the Palestinian people.
"This
is a criminal act and another example of the Zionist regime's
sponsored terrorism and barbarism," said foreign ministry
spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi.
Iran's
former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani warned that Yassin's
martyrdom would trigger an "even more serious struggle by the
oppressed Palestinians against the Israeli terrorist occupiers and
their U.S. supporter".
