|
Israeli provocation risks religious war: Abbas
[Al Arabiya Latest] Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday denounced Israeli "provocation" over two contested holy sites in the occupied West Bank that could unleash a "religious war."Netanyahu sparked outrage in the Arab world on Sunday when he said he hoped to include Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron in a national heritage plan. "Such provocation cannot contribute positively to the progress of the peace process," Abbas said, through an interpreter, following talks with EU parliament president Jerzy Buzek in Brussels. "This could provoke a religious war" Abbas warned earlier, in comments to the Belgian Senate. The Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, where the biblical patriarch Abraham is believed buried, is sacred to both Muslims and Jews and has long been the scene of tensions. Netanyahu's remarks had already drawn protests from Jordan, Egypt and Syria. Netanyahu's office late Tuesday accused Abbas of launching a "hypocritical campaign" saying that the ancestors of Israelis were buried there for more than 3,500 years and the sites deserved to be preserved. The Islamist Hamas movement has also denounced the Israeli plan which they also see as provocation against Muslims. Posted by: Fred 2010-02-25 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=291342 |