WASHINGTON, April 4: US President George W. Bush on Thursday called on Israel to begin withdrawal from Palestinian-controlled cities and directed Secretary of State Colin Powell to go to the region to revive attempts at a ceasefire.
“The storms of violence cannot go on,” Bush said. “Enough is enough.”
Expanding on Bush’s speech, an official said the United States hoped Israel would act “as soon as possible” on the president’s call to withdraw its troops from Palestinian territories.
“We hope that they will be able to do it as soon as possible, and I am sure we will have conversations with the Israelis in the days ahead,” said the official. “In due course, we will see what their reaction is.”
Bush, in a White House speech that followed a barrage of international criticism at what many nations saw as a weak US role, also said Syria and Iran must “stay out” of the Middle East conflict to avoid widening it.
And he called on the Palestinians to stop suicide bombings, saying “suicide bombing missions could well blow up the best and only hope for a Palestinian state”.
Bush repeated Israel’s right to defend itself but added, “Yet, to lay the foundations of future peace, I ask Israel to halt incursions into Palestinian-controlled areas, and begin the withdrawal from those cities it has recently occupied.”
He called on Israel to be compassionate at checkpoints and border crossings, “sparing innocent Palestinians daily humiliation”.
“Israel should take immediate action to ease closures and allow peaceful people to go back to work.”
Powell is expected to go to the region next week to attempt to arrange an immediate ceasefire.
Until now the United States has been pinning its hopes on a ceasefire and a return to peace talks on Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni, whose latest mission was disrupted by a wave of suicide bombings.
Bush had little good to say about Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, saying “the situation in which he finds himself today is largely of his own making”.
“He has missed his opportunities and thereby betrayed the hopes of his people,” Bush said. “Given his failure, the Israeli government feels it must strike at the terrorist networks that are killing its citizens.”
Bush also said that consistent with the peace framework negotiated by former Senator George Mitchell a year ago, Israeli construction of Jewish settlements in occupied territories “must stop”.
“And the occupation must end through withdrawal to secure and recognized boundaries, consistent with United Nations resolutions ... ,” Bush said. “Ultimately, this approach should be the basis for agreements between Israel and Syria, and Israel and Lebanon as well”.
On Syria and Iran, Bush specifically mentioned that “Iran’s arms shipments and support for terror fuel the fire of conflict in the Middle East, and must stop”.
He said while Syria has spoken out against Al Qaeda, the US expects it to act against Hamas and Hezbollah as well.
“It’s time for Iran to focus on meeting its own people’s aspirations for freedom, and for Syria to decide which side of the war against terror it is on,” he said.
REACTION: The Jewish state reacted cooly to the call for withdrawal, with Finance Minister Silvan Shalom saying they would not withdraw until a ceasefire was in place.
The Palestinians blasted Bush for accusing Yasser Arafat of having “betrayed his people”.
STIFF RESISTANCE: Israel struggled on Thursday to consolidate its hold on the northern West Bank city of Nablus while pressing its siege of Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity.
As Israel continued its drive, an army spokesman said some 1,100 Palestinians had been arrested in recent days. Palestinian sources said this included about 10 senior security officials.
Heavy fighting raged in Nablus as Israeli forces met stiff resistance.
Only Al Khalil, in the south, and Jericho, in the east, remained untouched by the blitz.
More than 100 Israeli tanks, backed by helicopter gunships, blasted their way on Wednesday night into Nablus, the largest city on the northern West Bank.
Heavy shell, machinegun and automatic weapons fire was heard in the city of 100,000 people. Israeli tanks were seen posted at all the main entrances as well as the centre, where smoke rose from one large building.
Armoured units were deployed in the main square in front of the house of the governor and police.
Heavy armoured units also moved into the refugee camps of Balata and Al-Asker, the Palestinians said. Four Palestinians were killed in Nablus, including a 54-year-old woman who died in her home after a large blast shook the old quarter, security sources said. At least four Palestinians were wounded.
In Bethlehem, Israeli forces pressed their siege of hundreds of Palestinians at the Church of the Nativity for a second day, looking to arrest what the Israelis called dozens of Palestinian gunmen among them. Confusion erupted after three explosions and rounds of gunfire were heard, and Palestinian sources said the Israelis had blown away a door leading to the grounds of one of Christianity’s holiest sites.
“We’re not going into the church,” government spokesman Raanan Gissin told CNN. “We’re not going to harm the church or any of its property.”
A janitor employed at the church was shot dead by Israeli forces as he was walking to work, bringing to 11 the number of Palestinians killed since the Israelis rumbled into Bethlehem.
The Israelis have also taken over the towns of Tulkarem, Qalqilya and Jenin.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and eight wounded in fighting in the Jenin refugee camp. An Israeli border guard was also killed in Al Khalil.
Gen Ron Kitrey, the Israeli army spokesman, said 1,100 Palestinians had been taken into custody on the West Bank, where the Israelis are seeking to crush an 18-month old uprising.
A Palestinian security official said 10 of the Palestinians seized in the Israeli sweep were high-ranking officers of the police or intelligence service.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Thursday his cabinet had decided to keep Arafat “isolated” in his besieged Ramallah headquarters. But Israeli army chief General Shaul Mofaz wanted to take things further.
“Arafat is at the head of the Palestinian Authority, which encourages, finances and trains terrorists. In these conditions, it would be better if he were expelled,” the general said.
GAZA STRIP: While fighting continued on the West Bank, the armed wings of the main Palestinian movements announced creation of an unprecedented “unified operations cell” in the Gaza Strip amid fears that after the West Bank Israel would turn on the other Palestinian territory.
A statement declared a state of emergency in Gaza and said, “We took this decision to resist and retaliate to the enemy’s arrogance against our dear land, our holy sites and our people.”—Reuters\AFP
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