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EU-Palestine /POL/
Spain's political parties call for EU measures against Israel
Madrid,
April 4, IRNA -- Political parties in Spain called on Prime
Minister Jose
Maria Aznar to take a stance independent of the
United States to
force Israel withdraw from the occupied territories
of Palestine.
They urged the government
which holds the rotating presidency of
the European Union (EU) to steer
clear of the United States on the
Palestinian crisis and take serious
steps to pressure Israel to
withdraw from Palestine.
Spain had organized an extraordinary meeting
of 15-nation
foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Wednesday which
decided to dispatch
a mission including Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique
and EU
Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana to the Middle East.
Israel backed by the United States in a humiliating gesture
against EU announced that it will not allow the mission to visit
Palestine Authority Chief Yasser Arafat.
It is not the first time that Israel has ignored the EU states and
their
initiatives to help resolve the Palestinian crisis.
Israeli
has destroyed the infrastructure built by the EU in the
Palestinian-ruled
areas.
Observers believe
that the European Union failed to take a stand
clear of the United States
so that the EU lacks the political resolve
to support democracy and peace in
the international community.
The Madrid-based former UNESCO chief
Zaragoza blamed the European
governments for deterioration of the situation
in the Middle East,
because, he said, they always look at the United
States instead of
taking an independent stand toward the Middle East
crisis.
Spanish academic Pedro Martinez Montavez criticized
the European
Union for its failure to take a unified stance toward the
crimes the
Zionist regime is systematically committing against
Palestinians.
Montavez said that the international forums are
responsible for
the heinous crimes against the defenseless Palestinians,
because they
limited themselves to only statements.
It remains to be seen whether the EU will get rid of the past and
what it will bring on the table independent of the United States,
Spanish intellectual said.
SS/AR
End
::irna 22:06
Belgian senator condemns `axis of evil' as sheer nonsense
Brussels, April 3, IRNA -- A Belgian senator has condemned US double
standards in the Middle East and called on the EU to play a more
active and balanced role in the region.
''This axis of evil talk is utterly nonsense. President Bush is
defending the cause of his own interests,'' Senator Vincent Van
Quickenborne told IRNA in an interview.
He pointed out that while American officials are accusing
countries like Iraq, Iran and Syria of supporting terrorism, they
are supporting the apartheid regime in Israel which is oppressing
and killing Palestinian people.
''I feel disgusted when I hear of Palestinian terrorism,
Palestinian violence etc. What are they supposed to do? People
forget that they are are under occupation since 34 years,'' said
Quickenborne who at 28 is the youngest member in the 71-member
Senate of Belgium.
''There should be a total withdrawal of Israeli troops
from Palestinian territories and recognition of a Palestinian
state with Jerusalem as its capital,'' he said.
''The state of Israel is not a democratic country. It does not
treat its own citizens equally. And let's not forget, Israel is
said to have 250 nuclear weapons,'' he said.
Quickenborne who represents a left-liberal coalition said
the oppressive policies of the Zionist regime is turning the
public opinion in Europe in favour of Palestinians.
He said he was frustrated by the unproductive EU policies
in the Middle East and called for independent EU policies in the
region.
The Belgian Senator said together with some NGOs he is going to
start a campaign in Belgium in June to boycott all Israeli goods. He
has also called for a suspension of the EU-Israel cooperation
agreement.
He criticised regimes in Arab and Islamic world for not taking
practical steps to help the Palestinians.
''They just talk and talk and talk and do nothing in practice,''
he said.
Quickenborne is to lead a medical delegation to Iraq next week
to help children suffering from eye diseases.
NK/KS
End
thr 067
Germany-Israel-Opinion Poll /WRD/
Majority of Germans oppose Israeli military actions - poll Berlin,
April 4, IRNA -- Germans oppose overwhelmingly Israel's military
tactics in the Palestinian-controlled territories, according to an opinion
poll released here Thursday by the Focus online magazine.
Some 73 percent
disapproved of the Zionist regime's military actions, 20 percent
supported the incursion while seven percent had noopinion.
Germany became the scene of
mass anti-Israel protests over the Easter holidays, as tens of thousands
of demonstrators took to the streets nationwide, voicing their opposition
to Israel's brutal crackdown of Palestinians.
The German government is facing intense public
criticism for its 'blind' support of the Zionist regime.
OT/HZ/KS
End
::irna 18:54
thr 064
Norway-Israeli Boycott /WRD/
Norwegian supermarkets impose boycott of Israeli goods
London,
April 4, IRNA -- The Norwegian supermarket chain, Coop Norge
is to boycott
Israeli goods following its brutal re-occupation of
Palestinian towns on
the West Bank.
'We are incensed by
what Israeli is doing. In our opinion,
Israel's actions in the
Mid-East conflict should have consequences
for our purchasing
policy,' Bernt Aas, the chief executive of Coop
Norge, was quoted
saying by Dagsavisen daily Thursday.
He said that the Coop
chain, which accounts for a quarter of
supermarket purchases, would
also approach its Swedish and Danish
partners with a view to
establishing a Nordic boycott of Israeli
products.
The boycott comes as a poll shows
that there has been a 40 per
cent rise in the number of Norwegians
expressing sympathy for the
Palestinians following more aggressive
military actions by the
Israeli regime.
The survey, carried out by Opinion research for
the Aftenposten
daily found that 44 per cent supported the Palestinians,
while only 9
per cent, mainly older respondents, expressed sympathy for the
Israelis.
Some 38 per cent said that they favoured neither side, while the
remaining nine per cent were found to be unsure.
The change of Norwegian views coincides with politicians taking a
more
public stand in condemning Israel. Some have called for the
Norwegian
government to take a harder line, others have declined
invitations to
take part in Israel's national day later this month.
HC/KS
End
::irna 18:26
thr 059
UK
MP-Israel /WRD/
UK MP
says Sharon is a `terrorist'
London, April
4, IRNA -- Veteran Conservative MP Sir Patrick Cormack
lays the blame for
the latest tragedy in the Middle East on Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon and has no qualms about describing him as
a terrorist.
'The prime responsibility
for this lies with Ariel Sharon. It was
his belligerent insensitivity,
which provoked the latest intifada,'
Cormack said.
'His response to terror, based
on his Beirut excesses in 1982, has
been that of a terrorist, not of the
statesman,' he said in a letter
published in the Times newspaper
Thursday.
The 62-year old opposition MP
described the present carnage
committed by Israel as 'merciless
retaliation' against Palestinians,
whose hopes had been lost.
'The tragedy that is unfolding
with ever-increasing ferocity in
the Middle East demands our attention,
for it threatens to plunge the
world into a turmoil greater than any since
1945,' he warned.
Cormack, who has been an MP for over 30
years, expressed hope that
when British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets the
US President George
W Bush, they will make it plain that the Israeli regime
'deserves to
stand condemned in the eyes of all who call themselves
civilised.'
HC/KS
End
::irna 16:45
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Greece-Palestine /WRD/
Greece calls for international pressure on Israel
Athens,
April 4, IRNA -- Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis Thursday
called for
international pressure on Israel to stop its atrocities
against the
Palestinian people.
Speaking to
the press after a meeting with his Danish
counterpart, Andres
Fogh Rasmussen, in Athens, Simitis said
the EU is sending a
high-level delegation to Israel Thursday
to urge the Zionist regime
for an immediate cease-fire and to
withdraw from PA-areas.
Meanwhile, pro-Palestine
demonstrations are taking
place all over Greece Thursday. In
Greece's second-largest
city Thessaloniki a support rally for the
Palestinians will take
place in the centre of the city.
Another solidarity rally in Crete is organized by
the Chania
Prefecture in the Municipal Market Square for today evening.
A show of protest, with ''Not another holocaust - A
state for Palestine, now'', has been organized by the Coalition of
the Left Youth outside the Zionist Embassy in Athens.
In a related development, Greek Olympic Champions, after a
meeting
they had with Greek deputy Minister of Sports Giannis Kourakis
also voiced
their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
'' We condemn
the terrorist activity taking place in the state of
Israel, but we are
supportive of what the Palestinian people are going
through'', stated the
President of the Association of Greek Olympic
Champions and MP of the
ruling PASOK party Panagiotis Fasoulas.
NK/KS
End
::irna 18:11
Add Indonesia, Egypt, China and Japan to the list of countries where the overwhelming tide is against the recent Israeli attacks.
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