U.S. lets Israel terrorize Palestine: Official<\/p>\n
Agencies, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
The head of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's political
\noffice, Farouq al-Kaddoumi, on Sunday accused the United States
\nof giving Israel freedom to carry out atrocities and terrorism
\nagainst his people, Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported.<\/p>\n
Kaddoumi, speaking on arrival in Kuala Lumpur for a meeting of
\nthe Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) foreign
\nministers, said he viewed then prospects for peace in the Middle
\nEast as \"increasingly hopeless\".<\/p>\n
\"We are sure that the Americans ... have given them (Israel)
\nthe green light to continue such atrocities and terrorism. This
\nis state terrorism,\" he told Bernama.<\/p>\n
U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday defended Israel's
\nstorming of Yasser Arafat's compound and demanded that the
\nPalestinian leader do more to stem violence. He consulted with
\nfive world leaders about the crisis, stepping directly into
\npeacemaking made yet more difficult by another suicide bombing in
\nIsrael.<\/p>\n
\"I can understand why the Israeli government takes the actions
\nthey take. Their country is under attack,\" Bush said, a day after
\nIsraeli tanks invaded buildings in Arafat's government complex on
\nthe West Bank.<\/p>\n
\"Every day there has been a suicide bombing, and every day the
\ngovernment sees the loss of innocent life,\" Bush told reporters
\nsummoned to his ranch at Crawford, Texas.<\/p>\n
Kaddoumi said Israel had deployed more than 40,000 soldiers in
\njust a small area of the West Bank and Palestinians were facing
\ndifficulty in getting medicine and food supply.<\/p>\n
\"They have overrun several towns, they use their snipers,
\nheavy artillery, M16 and combat helicopters in addition to
\nsoldiers who enter the cities and are destroying residential
\nareas and killing people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the Israelis had no respect for any United Nations'
\nSecurity Council resolution including the latest one which called
\nfor the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a cease-fire.<\/p>\n
\"They arrest and kill Palestinians, their crackdown on these
\ninnocent citizens of Palestine continues and yet they want the
\nPalestinians to exercise restraint.\"<\/p>\n
Kaddoumi said the United States had done noting to reactivate
\nthe derailed Camp David peace process.<\/p>\n
\"We spent 10 years and waited for Israel to act in accordance
\nwith the terms of the agreement and for the Americans to pressure
\nthe Israelis to implement all the terms of the agreement. But
\nunfortunately they did not do so,\" said Kaddoumi.<\/p>\n
He said the chances for peace in the region were more remote.<\/p>\n
\"It is hopeless. It has become a hopeless case after 10 years
\nof negotiations,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He repeated accusations that Israeli Prime Minister Arial
\nSharon is a war criminal.<\/p>\n
\"Sharon is a war criminal and Israel is a racist regime. They
\nare waging a ridiculous war against the Palestinian people,\"
\nKaddoumi said.<\/p>\n
The three-day OIC meeting begins on Monday, and ministers will
\ndiscuss the root causes of terrorism and how to dispel
\nperceptions that Muslims are largely responsible.<\/p>\n
Most will agree that Israel's treatment of the Palestinians is
\none of the main causes of terrorism, and several accuse the
\nJewish state of practicing state terrorism.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Bush called King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian
\nPresident Hosni Mubarak, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Prime
\nMinister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain and Saudi Crown Prince
\nAbdullah, who has offered a leading peace initiative.<\/p>\n
The president did not speak with Arafat or Israeli Prime
\nMinister Ariel Sharon. Secretary of State Colin Powell planned to
\nspeak to Sharon and possibly Arafat, Bush said. U.S. envoy
\nAnthony Zinni will remain in the region to continue his
\npeacemaking efforts.<\/p>\n
Though Arafat was penned in by Israeli forces, Bush said he
\nwas convinced the Palestinian leader can do more to halt suicide
\nbombings. The president said he saw a \"pattern, a routine, and a
\nconstancy\" in the suicide attacks that suggested an effort to
\nsabotage the peace process.<\/p>\n
\"The more progress we make toward achieving a cease-fire or
\nmeaningful security discussions, the more a killer organization
\nwill try to disrupt the process,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bush called on Arafat to \"stand up and condemn, in Arabic,
\nthese attacks.\" He insisted that Palestinian security forces can
\nmore effectively keep suicide bombers out of Israel.<\/p>",
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