ANGER over the US role in the Middle East crisis was mounting on Wednesday as Israel expanded its assault on the Palestinians with an apparent green light from loyal ally Washington.
From Athens to Asia and inside the United States itself,
citizens and politicians expressed their discontent with the
administration of President George W Bush, which has stayed largely away from the conflict.
Around 7 000 protesters in Athens took the streets yelling
”Americans are assassins” outside the Israeli embassy, in the third
major demonstration since the weekend.
In Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees
live, parliament speaker Nabih Berri blasted the ”biased position
of the United States” and also called for a boycott of Israel.
Street protests were expected later in the day.
In Indonesia, rallies were held outside the US embassy in
Jakarta and three other cities, while the nation’s top security
minister warned against Indonesian Muslims racing to the West Bank
to take up arms.
”The government understands the solidarity of Indonesian Muslims
for their brethren in Palestine,” Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said, but
added: ”If you want to provide aid, it better not be physical.”
A new poll in Sweden found that a large majority of people
believe Bush has not done enough to try to bring about an
Israeli-Palestinian peace.
It found 63% believe Bush’s efforts had fallen short,
while 15% were pleased with his efforts and 22% were
undecided.
The poll also found that one-third of Swedes believe Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to blame for the recent escalation
of violence, while 11% say Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
is the cause.
Meanwhile the White House itself was bombarded with e-mails from
Arab Americans calling on the United States to press Israel into
stopping the military offensive.
Hundreds of people took to the Internet on Tuesday after a
leading Arab-American lobby group called on its supporters to
pepper the White House with messages.
”The United States is aiding and abetting Israel by sitting on
its hands,” said Jean Abadiner, managing director of the Arab
American Institute.
The Arab community in the United States is ”disappointed and
disillusioned” by its government’s failure to act, he said. Earlier
there were protests in Washington, Los Angeles and Detroit.
Meanwhile the European Union called for a new international
conference on the Middle East, after Spanish Foreign Minister Josep
Pique, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, met with
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.
”It is clear that previous mediation has failed and we need new
mediation,” EU Commission head Romano Prodi told a press conference
in Brussels.
”We need the US, the EU, the UN, moderate Arab states, the
Israelis, the Palestinians and Russia around the same table,” he
said.
But Israel promptly rejected the proposal, saying a ceasefire
between Israel and the Palestinians must come first.
In the meantime, a group of Arab envoys to South Africa met Deputy Foreign
Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad in Pretoria to convey their concerns
about escalating violence in the Middle East.
They indicated they would consider invoking an existing United
Nations resolution to start campaigning for sanctions against
Israel, Pahad told reporters afterwards.
The diplomats conveyed ”a lot of anger and frustration”, about
the Israeli occupation of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s
Ramallah headquarters.
”They gave us a full briefing on what they consider (a
situation) where a point of no return is being reached.”
The entire complement of the Arab diplomatic corps in South
Africa attended the meeting, Pahad said.
Pahad reiterated South Africa’s stance that there was no
military solution for the Middle East conflict, and that a
negotiated solution should be sought.
Israel should with withdraw from the occupied territories so
that peace plans should be given a chance. Both the warring parties
should then enter into negotiations without any preconditions.
”We don’t think the suggestion that Araft should go into exile
will be taken seriously by the Palestinians or anybody else,” Pahad
said.
”Everybody has accepted that Arafat does represent the
Palestinian people and was democratically elected by them. He is,
therefore, a partner for peace.”
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon earlier raised the
possibility of Arafat’s departure from the Palestinian areas,
saying Israel had proposed Arafat be flown into exile by European
diplomats.
Palestinians have rejected that idea.
Pahad defended South African efforts to help create conditions
conducive to peace talks in the Middle East, saying the country had
to continue adding its voice to peace calls.
”If we lose hope …we will be leaving future generations to
grow up in an environment of hatred, violence, and disregard for
life. It’s a nightmare that we cannot even hope to contemplate,” he
said. – Sapa, AFP