January 05, 2009	Monday	Muharram 07, 1430

PARIS, Jan 4: Israel’s tank-and-troop assault on the Gaza Strip provoked cries of alarm worldwide on Sunday, but Israel won US backing and moves for an immediate ceasefire foundered at the United Nations.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown echoed European concerns when he said Israel’s ground offensive launched on Saturday was a “very dangerous moment” in the conflict, and he called for increased efforts to rapidly secure a halt in the fighting.

The assault was condemned across the Middle East, with Egypt saying the UN Security Council’s silence on Israel’s campaign of air strikes had effectively given Tel Aviv “a green light” for the ground assault.

Asian nations expressed alarm, too, with calls for an immediate end to the ground operation.

US President-elect Barack Obama maintained his silence on the latest events, having stressed that President George W. Bush was in charge until his inauguration January 20.

As thousands of Israeli soldiers and scores of tanks pushed into Gaza, Prime Minister Brown said assurances needed to be given to both the Israelis and Hamas to secure a ceasefire.

“I think everybody around the world is expressing grave concerns. What we’ve got to do almost immediately is to work harder than we’ve done for an immediate ceasefire,” he told BBC television.

“I can see the Gaza issues for the Palestinians – that they need humanitarian aid – but the Israelis must have some assurance that there are no rocket attacks coming into Israel.

“So first we need an immediate ceasefire, and that includes a stopping of the rockets into Israel,” he said.

Brown also called for Arab powers to unite to stop the supply of arms to Gaza and said Egypt’s assistance would be crucial in shutting the illegal tunnels used to channel weapons to the enclave.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said European nations stood ready to contribute international monitors to help keep peace.

“The ceasefire has to be a ceasefire complied (with) by everybody and be clearly maintained,” Solana told the BBC.

European reaction to the Israeli ground offensive revealed a sharp difference in tone from the official US line.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the decision to send troops into Gaza was a “dangerous military escalation.”

The European Union’s new Czech presidency said Israel’s ground operation was more “defensive than offensive,” but later said the statement was issued in error and altered its reaction to a call for a ceasefire.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso warned that Israel’s offensive would only aggravate difficulties for all concerned.

“I’m very worried that the dispatch of ground troops will make the situation much worse,” he said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Israel’s incursion came in “brazen defiance” of international calls to end the offensive it began with air strikes on December 27.

“The Security Council’s silence and its failure to take a decision to stop Israel’s aggression since it began was interpreted by Israel as a green light,” he said in a statement.

A Jordanian government spokesman said the invasion “will have dangerous repercussions and negative effects on the region’s security and stability,” state news agency Petra reported.

Foreign Minister Salah Bashir met ambassadors from the UN Security Council’s five permanent members and urged speedy “international action to end these attacks.”

His statement came after Arab League chief Amr Mussa accused the UN Security Council of ignoring the crisis in Gaza.

An Arab diplomat familiar with the talks at the Security Council blamed the US for blocking a resolution calling for a ceasefire.

“It’s clearly the Americans, it doesn’t require genius,” he said, adding that the US had blocked a resolution because “the Israelis still need some time to finish their operations.”

Turkey, one of Israel’s few Muslim allies, urged the UN to take the necessary steps to bring the situation under control and condemned the “unacceptable” offensive.

“We condemn and find it unacceptable that Israel has begun a ground operation (in Gaza) in spite of the warnings and reactions from the international community,” said a foreign ministry statement.

In Lebanon, which suffered its own bloody Israeli onslaught in 2006, the Al Anwar daily said: “Israel is in a bind. It started a war but doesn’t know how to finish. It’s afraid of a repeat of its war in Lebanon.”

With the possibility of Hezbollah — Israel’s target in 2006 — getting involved in a conflict on Israel’s northern border, the An-Nahar daily warned that “a protracted war could lead to other terrifying possibilities, for Lebanon and the region.”—AFP