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Palestinians seek UN pressure on Israel over Gaza

Posted on: Friday, 30 June 2006, 17:37 CDT

By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Palestinians urged the U.N. Security Council on Friday to press Israel to quickly end its Gaza offensive, but the United States said Syria and Iran must first end their role as "state sponsors of terror" and condemn Hamas militants.

Israel, for its part, insisted to an emergency session of the 15-nation council that its military presence was limited to a small part of southern Gaza and intended to prevent a kidnapped Israeli soldier from being smuggled out of the area.

The Jewish state was doing all it could to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians and planned immediate steps to ease the humanitarian situation on the ground, said Daniel Carmon, Israel's deputy U.N. ambassador.

Palestinian U.N. Observer Riyad Mansour painted a dire picture of conditions in Gaza, where Israeli forces have bombed water pipelines and the area's sole power plant and attacked the Interior Ministry with missiles.

In the West Bank, Israel had kidnapped at least 64 Palestinians including eight Hamas Cabinet ministers and 24 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, he said.

"The council cannot continue to remain passive in the face of such a military aggression against a defenseless civilian population," he said, calling for approval of a resolution condemning the incursion and urging the prompt withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of detained officials.

But John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, called for caution. "We should not undermine the limited credibility of the council by engaging in debate and rhetoric merely for their own sake," he said.

The best way to resolve the crisis was for Hamas to quickly and unconditionally release the captured Israeli corporal, Gilad Shalit, he said.

WASHINGTON SHIFTS FOCUS TO SYRIA, IRAN

"The United States is of the firm view that a prerequisite for ending this conflict is that the governments of Syria and Iran end their role as state sponsors of terror and unequivocally condemn the actions of Hamas," including Shalit's kidnapping, Bolton said.

Syria also should arrest Hamas leader and "known international terrorist" Khaled Meshaal, who lives in Damascus, and shut down Hamas offices on its territory, he added.

Many Middle East leaders recognized that Meshaal was "the key to resolving this humanitarian crisis" through Shalit's safe return, said Israel's Carmon, noting the many pleas for his release directed at the Syrian government.

While Israel had shown restraint during weeks of attempted kidnappings and rocket attacks on its territory, it had launched its offensive only following Shalit's abduction and the murder of 18-year-old settler Eliyahu Asheri, he said.

Gaza had become "a terror base" and diplomatic efforts on Shalit's behalf had proved fruitless, he said. It was Israel's duty "to do all that we can to bring about his safe return."

Israel had detained the Hamas officials "so they can be tried and brought to justice," he said. "Israel will not accept terrorists to hide behind political titles."

Bolton, however, noted the Group of Eight industrialized nations, including the United States, had on Thursday expressed concern about the Palestinian officials' detention.

"We call on all parties to avoid action that can escalate this situation or harm innocent civilians while acknowledging Israel's unequivocal right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens," the U.S. envoy said.

Source: REUTERS

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