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WASHINGTON, March 30: US President George W. Bush said on Saturday that Iran and Syria must “stop fostering terrorism” in the Middle East.
In a briefing on the Middle East crisis given at a location close to his ranch in Texas, Bush said: “The Iranians must step up and stop fostering terrorism. The Syrians must participate.”
Bush also urged Israel to find a path to peace and defuse the crisis in the Middle East. He said all countries must stand up against terrorism.
Of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, Bush said: “I think Mr Arafat could have done more three weeks ago and can do more today. I think I know I have been disappointed in his unwillingness to go 100 percent for fighting terror.”
ISRAEL:In Tel Aviv, Israeli Defence Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer warned Syria and Lebanon on Saturday that Israel “will defend itself” if attacks by Hezbollah from southern Lebanon do not end, after Hezbollah launched a new mortar and rocket strike from across the border.
Speaking after Israeli jets struck southern Lebanon in retaliation for the latest Hezbollah attack, Ben Eliezer told army radio: “Our response is a signal to Syria. The governments of Lebanon and Syria should know that if this does not stop, we’ll have to defend ourselves.
“We do not want to open a new front, we do not want an escalation. But this operation could not have taken place without the knowledge and authorization of Syria,” Ben Eliezer said. Israeli warplanes raided southern Lebanon on Saturday after the Hezbollah fired rockets and mortar shells across the border into the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms.
The jets bombed the Seddanade and Halta hills near the village of Shebaa inside Lebanese territory. Hezbollah answered with anti-aircraft fire.
Israeli troops also lobbed shells on the town of Hasbaya, about 10 kilometres inside the border.
Hezbollah attacked four Israeli military positions across the disputed frontier, the militant group said in a statement.
SUICIDE BOMBING:Twenty-nine people were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded Tel Aviv cafe on Saturday night.
Six people were in serious condition, after the kamikaze detonated his explosives inside the My Coffee Shop cafe on the central Allenby Street, a main commercial artery dotted with restaurants and cafes.
Most of those injuries were hit by shrapnel.
The kamikaze was apparently the only person killed.
Dozens of ambulances surrounded the cafe while police and emergency workers evacuated the injured. Police cordoned off the area in search of other bombs.
A helicopter hovered over the scene of shattered glass, twisted metal and empty plastic chairs after customers fled from area.
Israel’s Deputy Internal Security Minister Gideon Ezra told a television network at the scene, “We have no choice but to continue operations in the territories. This is not a conventional war”
“My condolences to the victims.” —Reuters
