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"Each
feeds the anger and hatred of the other, and then yet more
innocent lives are swept away." |
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a strongly worded statement Sunday, August 4, condemning both the Palestinians and Israelis in the wake of a new wave of violence which killed 14 people and injured at least 70 more, news agencies reported.
“Yet again today, this time in Safad in the north of Israel, a Palestinian… destroyed at least ten lives, including his own, while inflicting injuries on some 50 people and spreading fear and misery among hundreds of friends and relatives,” the statement, carried reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP), read.
“People were also killed when a gunman opened fire in Jerusalem,” it added.
The statement referred to a bus bombing Sunday at a road junction in northern Israel, which killed nine Israelis and injured as many as 50 more.
Responsibility for the blast was claimed by the Islamic resistance group Hamas, in retaliation, according to the group’s statement, for the assassination of Hamas leader Salah Shehada, killed in the July 23 Israeli missile attack in Gaza which claimed the lives of 14 other Palestinian civilians.
Early Tuesday, July 23, Israel used a U.S.-built F-16 warplane to drop a one-ton bomb on a densely populated Gaza district, killing 14 Palestinian civilians plus Shehada, who died in the raid along with his wife and daughter. The deadly raid wounded 176 more.
“Every day, it seems, brings fresh news of death, destruction and suffering among innocent civilians, Israeli and Palestinian alike,” said Annan. “One side resorts to indiscriminate terror, the other responds with retaliation that is equally devastating in effects on ordinary people,” he added.
“Each feeds the anger and hatred of the other, and then yet more innocent lives are swept away.”
Annan's statement called the attacks on civilians “immoral”, “illegal” and “politically counterproductive”, and made an impassioned plea to both sides to focus on a negotiated settlement that resulted “in two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in secure and recognized borders.
“For humanity's sake, let it come sooner rather than later,” Annan said.
On August 1, Annan urged Israel not to take any actions that are inconsistent with international humanitarian laws. According to the statement published on the U.N. website, Anan was “deeply concerned” by the reports that Israel is proceeding with plans to deport from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip relatives of Palestinians known or alleged to be responsible for attacks against Israel.
“He calls on the Government of Israel to adhere to its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949). The Secretary-General urges the Government of Israel not to take actions that are inconsistent with international humanitarian law, such as forcible transfer of protected persons, regardless of motive, and collective punishment,” said the statement.
