NICOSIA, April 3: Anger over the US role in the Middle East crisis was mounting on Wednesday as Israel expanded its assault on the Palestinians with an apparent green light from loyal ally Washington.

From Greece to Asia and inside the United States itself, citizens and politicians expressed their discontent with the administration of President George W. Bush, which has stayed largely away from the conflict.

In Lebanon, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees live, parliament speaker Nabih Berri blasted the “biased position of the United States” and also called for a boycott of Israel.

Thousands of protesters who tried to march on the heavily-guarded US embassy in Beirut were pushed back by Lebanese police using teargas, batons and water cannon, on the third straight day of rallies.

Dozens were injured, and some demonstrators covered in blood were seen being taken off to hospital.

Around 7,000 protesters in Athens took to the streets yelling “Americans are assassins” outside the Israeli embassy, in the third major demonstration since the weekend.

In Indonesia, rallies were held outside the US embassy in Jakarta and three other cities, while the nation’s top security minister warned against Indonesian Muslims racing to the West Bank to take up arms.

“The government understands the solidarity of Indonesian Muslims for their brethen in Palestine,” Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said, but added: “If you want to provide aid, it better not be physical.”

A new poll in Sweden found that a large majority of people believe Bush has not done enough to try to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian peace.

It found 63 percent believe Bush’s efforts had fallen short, while 15 percent were pleased with his efforts and 22 percent were undecided.

The poll also found that one-third of Swedes believe Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to blame for the recent escalation of violence, while 11 percent say Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is the cause.

The White House itself was bombarded with e-mails from Arab Americans calling on the United States to press Israel into stopping the military offensive.

Hundreds of people took to the Internet on Tuesday after a leading Arab-American lobby group called on its supporters to pepper the White House with messages.

“The United States is aiding and abetting Israel by sitting on its hands,” said Jean Abadiner, managing director of the Arab American Institute.

The Arab community in the United States is “disappointed and disillusioned” by its government’s failure to act, he said. Earlier there were protests in Washington, Los Angeles and Detroit.

The European Union called for a new international conference on the Middle East, after Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, met Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

“It is clear that previous mediation has failed and we need new mediation,” EU Commission head Romano Prodi said at a press conference in Brussels.

“We need the US, the EU, the UN, moderate Arab states, the Israelis, the Palestinians and Russia around the same table,” he said.

But Israel promptly rejected the proposal, saying a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians must come first.

—AFP