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Jordan blasts 'escalation'; Blair: PA was warned
Jordan's King Abdullah yesterday sharply criticized Tuesday's raid in Jericho, calling it "an unfortunate escalation" that posed a threat to the future of the peace process and to security in the region. "It would have been better for the parties concerned to find another formula to deal with this issue," the king said, adding, "[The Israelis] created tension and lessened the chances for an adequate climate to forge ahead with the peace process." He also urged Hamas "to deal with regional and international realities," referring to the group's refusal to disarm, recognize international treaties signed by the Palestinian Authority or recognize Israel. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit also denounced the raid. "Using violence to settle pending issues between the two sides contradicts all previously signed agreements," Aboul Gheit was quoted as saying. He added that Egypt was in continuous contact with all parties concerned in order to contain the situation. The minister warned Israel against "adopting unilateral measures, using force and obstructing Palestinian security men carrying out their duties," but he also called on all Palestinian groups to exercise self-restraint. Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday that suggestions from top Hamas lawmakers that they would free the men suspected in the 2001 assassination of Minister Rehavam Ze'evi had partly motivated Britain's decision to withdraw its monitors from the prison. Blair said the Palestinian Authority had been warned for three months about problems at the Jericho prison. The PA became responsible for conditions there under a 2002 agreement made to get men out of the besieged compound of then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. "We have kept to that agreement every inch of the way," Blair said. "The breach has been because the proper detention procedures were not being observed on the Palestinian side." The presidency of the European Union said yesterday it was "gravely concerned" by recent events in the PA and urged both Israelis and Palestinians to exercise restraint. "The presidency stresses the need to take the appropriate measures to restore calm and order," the EU said in a statement released in Austria, which currently holds the presidency of the 25-nation bloc. Israel and the PA should exercise restraint and carefully weigh the impact of their actions to prevent a further escalation, the EU said. The EU also condemned the taking of hostages, called on the PA to ensure the protection of foreign nationals and their property and said it remained committed to supporting the Palestinian people. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday told Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he feared Israel's prison raid would lead to an escalation of violence, Olmert's office said. Annan, who was in South Africa, spoke with Olmert by telephone about the operations. "The secretary general said that after the operation was finished he is more calm because he feared an escalation in the region," read a statement from Olmert's office. The United States is working to prevent a second attempt by UN Security Council member Qatar to discuss the IDF raid in the Security Council. On Tuesday Qatar called for a convention of the body to discuss the military operation, but the U.S. blocked the meeting. Yesterday Qatar submitted a new draft of a presidential statement it sought to publish on the issue. The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said he would do everything in his power to prevent a Security Council deliberation and statement on the issue. Posted by: Slusing Clerenter8792 2006-03-16 |
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