RAMALLAH, 19 November 2003 — The European Union warned Israel in Brussels yesterday that its military actions and restrictive policies in the West Bank and Gaza were “fueling extremism” by making life “increasingly intolerable” for Palestinians.
In a sharply worded statement issued after meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, foreign ministers from the 25 current and soon-to-be EU countries said Israel had a “right to protect its citizens.”
But they urged the Israelis to “exert maximum effort to avoid civilian casualties,” to abstain from assassinations and demolishing houses as “punitive measures,” and to stop trying to remove Yasser Arafat as the Palestinian leader.
In particular, the EU demanded Israel halt construction of a “security fence” in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, saying it violated international law and would cause “further humanitarian and economic hardship.”
Meanwhile, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) claimed responsibility for a West Bank attack yesterday in which two Israeli soldiers were killed.
Its fighters carried out the attack “to confirm the continuation of the armed struggle, respond to the daily Zionist crimes against our people, and underline our rejection of any decision which would harm the resistance,” said the Damascus-based radical group. A Palestinian gunman killed the two soldiers at a military checkpoint in the southern West Bank, the commanding officer of Israeli forces in the territory said.
New Palestinian Premier Ahmed Qorei, meanwhile, has been preparing a bid to persuade leaders of armed factions to halt their campaign of deadly attacks against Israel.
Israel told the United States at talks in Brussels that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would meet Qorei next week to help revive a US-engineered road map to peace.
