Countries around the world and the United Nations Friday expressed grave concerns about Israel's massive military actions in the Palestinian-controlled areas, calling on the international community to act immediately to stop such a military escalation in the region.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Friday called on leaders of Israel and the Palestinians to "exercise responsible leadership."
"Both sides need to adopt policies that reinforce the prospects for a political process leading to a peaceful settlement, and eschew actions that make a peaceful settlement through negotiations more difficult," Annan noted.
He called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to accept a cease-fire proposal put forward by US Special Envoy Anthony Zinni, and urged Israel to halt its assault on the Palestinian Authority, saying "destroying the Palestinian Authority will not bring Israel closer to peace."
China on Friday called on the Israelis and Palestinians to exercise the maximum restraint by stopping all forms of violence and returning to the negotiating table to move forward the peace momentum in the Middle East region.
Taking floor at an open debate of the United Nations Security Council, Chinese ambassador Wang Yingfan condemned both the suicide bombings against Israeli civilians and the barbarian Israeli aggression against the Palestinian Authority.
The violent action by a small number of people runs counter to peace aspirations of the Palestinian people while the massive military offensive by Israel against Palestinians is not different from a declaration of war against Palestine as some commentaries put it, said Wang Yingfan, China's permanent representative to the UN.
He called on Israel to immediately cease military action and withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories.
In the United States, the White House said Friday that the United States was monitoring the situation in the Middle East "very closely."
"We are monitoring the events very closely and assessing appropriate responses," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, adding that in spite of the latest escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, US envoy Zinni would stay in the region and continue his mediation efforts between the two sides.
European Union (EU) foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana said Friday that the military means would not provide a permanent solution to the problem, adding that the EU is following the Middle East situation closely.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said in a statement that "The situation in the Palestinian territory is developing in a dangerous direction," and Israel's policy of absolutely isolating Arafat "will hardly promote a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said that no solution to the Middle East crisis could be found by "armored vehicles firing" at the residence of Arafat.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called on both Israeli and Palestinian sides to exercise restraint and negotiate for a peaceful future for their peoples.
"The situation is extremely critical for the millions of people who live in Israel and the occupied Territories. But never has there been a greater need for restraint to be shown on both sides."
"It can only be through negotiation that there will ever be a peaceful future for the citizens of Israel, for the Palestinians and for everyone in the region," the foreign secretary said.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said on Friday that the attacks on Arafat's compound posed a direct threat to the safety of the Palestinian leader, and Egypt is deeply worried about the grave situation.
King Abdullah II of Jordan on Friday slammed Israel for escalating military operations against the Palestinian people and threatening Arafat's life by attacking his headquarters.
The monarch pointed out that "the Israeli attacks on the Palestinian leadership violated all international conventions and agreements."
The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) called on the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting and stop Israel's military actions.
A Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman said the government of Pakistan "has noted with grave concern the aggressive actions taken by Israel in surrounding and attacking Palestinian President Arafat's Ramallah headquarters and the decision to completely isolate him."
"Pakistan condemns Israel's latest military action which is all the more condemnable in view of the Arab League declaration offering Israel peace and security in exchange for its complete withdrawal from territories occupied since 1967," he said.
Israeli tanks rolled into the West Bank city of Ramallah early Friday and Israeli soldiers took control of most of the compound of Palestinian leader Yasser Afarat, killing five Palestinians and injuring more than 40 others.
The Israeli incursion came after the Israeli cabinet decided Friday to launch massive military operations against the Palestinians in retaliation for a suicide bombing in the northern Israeli seaside town of Netanya Wednesday, in which 21 people were killed.
( March 30, 2002)
