Regional, international condemnation of Israeli war against Palestinians

King of Jordan: Israel's stay in region is linked to Palestinian statehood, ending occupation

Morocco condemns Israel, believes Gaza situation destroys peace process

President Hosni Mubarak said the Egyptian troops at Rafah Crossing Tuesday 22/1/2008 allowed Palestinians to enter into the Egyptian side of borders to get their needs of foodstuffs due to food shortage in Gaza.

In statements he gave after the inauguration of the Cairo International Book Fair, the President reiterated the intensive Egyptian efforts and contacts for ending the sufferings of the Palestinians in Gaza.

He said he has asked competent bodies to allow the Palestinians to purchase their basic needs and to return to Gaza so long as they carry no arms or prohibited items. The President said he has given directives to the government to offer food aid in cooperation with NGOs which are willing to give a hand.

Mubarak said he telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his Defence Minister Ehud Barak to urge them to act quickly to end the difficult humanitarian situation at Rafah crossing.

And Israeli authorities sent a fuel tank truck to the besieged Gazans, the President told the press, noting that the vehicle was forced to retreat after a rocket was fired at it from the Gaza Strip.

"But the Israeli side promised me to start delivering fuel and power supplies as of Tuesday morning," Mubarak said.

Mubarak also called on the Palestinians to "help us get things back to normal", pointing out that rocket attacks like those of Tuesday, would further complicate the situation.

By firing missiles in the direction of Israel, Hamas is just giving Tel Aviv a reason to precede one step further.

The disputes between Fatah and Hamas only play into the hands of Palestinians' foes, the President said, urging the two rivals to sit down and talk.

The problem, according to Mubarak, is that each party wants to control a certain territory.

Egypt, he said, is doing its best to achieve national reconciliation between the Palestinian factions, despite big in-house problems.

Mubarak is of the opinion that recalling ambassadors from Israel would take its toll on "contacts we are making with Israel to resolve the current stalemate".

President Mubarak also talked about the Arab initiative on Lebanon, saying that it was the best proposal the Lebanese got.

Other initiatives from Europe and the US were not as successful, Mubarak told reporters.

But he admitted that the conflict in Lebanon has developed into personal disputes that, if each party in Lebanon continued to dig in their heels, would harm the Lebanese people first thing.

Asked about the coming Arab summit in Damascus, Mubarak said: "We'll just have to wait and see how things will turn out."

Developments at Egypt-Gaza borders and the outbreak of tens of thousands of Palestinians into Egypt are an immediate result of the Israeli siege on Gaza, said Hossam Zaki the Foreign Ministry spokesman on Wednesday 23/1/2008.

The spokesman said that President Hosni Mubarak gave directives allowing the Palestinians into Egypt to meet their food and medical needs.

Zaki said that Egypt understands the very difficult living conditions of the Palestinians in Gaza, calling on all parties to shoulder their responsibility.

Egypt respects its legal obligations concerning borders with Gaza including the Rafah terminal, said the spokesman.

Egypt is calling on all parties involved in operating the terminal to look into reactivating the agreement governing the operation of Rafah terminal, he said.

Hossam Zaki told the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV Channel on Wednesday 23/1/2008 that Egypt can not take a hostile stance against the Palestinians.

Zaki said that Egypt respects the agreement governing the operation of Rafah terminal.

The Israeli aggressions and measures have created difficult humanitarian conditions, in Gaza, he said.

The only option left was to allow them (Palestinians) to cross into Egypt to fulfil their food needs, he said.

His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday condemned the Israeli “military violations” in the Gaza Strip which claimed the lives of innocent people, voicing Jordan’s concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation there.

Concerning his recent visit to Syria, King Abdullah said Syria is a brotherly Arab neighbour with whom we have common interests, and we are still optimistic about the future of our relations with Syria because we strongly believe that it is an integral part of the Arab world. We also cooperate in order to realize Syrian policies that are in the interest of the Arab nation and for inter-Arab ties to be based on mutual respect for the sovereignty of each state.

About Lebanon, he said that The Arab League initiative regarding the situation in Lebanon is a valuable opportunity and a foundation from which to achieve national reconciliation that can lead to an end of the crisis. The opportunity should not be wasted to spare Lebanon of the potential repercussions which could undermine regional security.

Concerning Iraq, His Majesty said that we have been keen to build ties with the Iraqi government that serve common interests and we have exerted and continue to exert every effort to assist them in the achievement of national reconciliation in Iraq and encourage all components of Iraqi society to enter the political process in order to build a strong and united Iraq and challenge attempts to divide their country and wreak chaos there. We are concerned to see Iraq return as a strong, effective player in the Arab sphere, but we must stress that it is the Iraqis themselves who are most able to realize their national interests, provided that they are united against sectarianism and violence, which only serves Iraq's enemies.

Morocco reiterated its unflinching support for the Palestinian people and absolute solidarity with them in their dilemma inflicted by the Israeli siege and starvation policies against the unarmed civilians in Gaza. In this context, Minister of Communications and government spokesman Khalid Naciri said in a statement following the cabinet meeting that the Moroccan cabinet had strongly deplored the savage Israeli atrocities and called on the UN to assume its responsibility in the protection of the Palestinians and their legitimate rights.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will demand Israel commit at a peace summit today to a freeze on all settlement construction, and he has appealed to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for support, Nabil Abu Rdeneh, the government spokesman said. He added in a statement commenting on the Israeli decision to build 7300 residential units in 5 districts of Jerusalem that “the US side has to hold its responsibilities regarding that subject because the Palestinian side can’t keep on going in view of the Israeli expansion.”

Saeb Erekat, the Palestinians’ chief peace negotiator, said in an interview with Alquds Palestinian newspaper that what is currently happening in Gaza including starvation and cutting of food and fuel supply on a million and a half Palestinian is considered a violation for Geneva Convention, adding that such acts could stall negotiations.” He added that the Palestinian Authority made calls with the Israeli side asking for the importance of continuing the fuel supplies and he affirmed that president Abbas got an official commitment from Ehud Olmert not to touch peoples’ basic needs.

The U.N.'s top human rights body condemned Israeli military action in Gaza.

The resolution, which also demands the lifting of the blockade on Gaza and calls for international action to protect Palestinian civilians, was proposed by Arab and Muslim countries and passed by 30 votes in favour, one against and 15 abstentions, during an emergency session of the 47-member U.N. Human Rights Council.

Israel's restriction of supplies to Gaza represented a "collective punishment" of Palestinians that violated the Geneva Convention, Louise Arbour, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at the meeting. Palestinians, particularly in Gaza, "are systematically deprived of the enjoyment of almost all their rights and basic needs," she said Wednesday.

The Palestinian representative to the UN in Geneva, Mohammad Abu-Koash, said his delegation had offered to include reference to attacks by Palestinian combatants on Israeli civilians on condition that EU member states supported the resolution, but "there were people who did not want that resolution to fly," he said. An EU diplomat confirmed the offer but said "other concerns" with the resolution raised by two or three member states meant it had been impossible to meet the Palestinian conditions.

“The occupation authorities should immediately cease its criminal activities… The real aim of Israel from these aggressions and crimes is in fact to deliberately abort all Arab and international efforts to invigorate the peace process," Syrian Ambassador Faysal Hamoui said on behalf of the Group of Arab states and the Islamic Group.

This is the worst kind of collective punishment, the murder of civilians and children. The Israeli authorities are committed to do such crimes and they are defying international law… This council must immediately intervene to help the Palestinian people," Saudi Ambassador Abdulwahab Attar said.

UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said that she is very concerned about the situation of children in Gaza following the electricity outage on Sunday night. Veneman added that it is clear that the people of Gaza have been generally impacted, and in a situation of conflict the children become the most vulnerable.

Veneman added that the current situation in Gaza affects refrigeration of vaccines, hospital care and other issues. She added that UNICEF is working in the region with its partners to tackle this humanitarian crisis. Veneman, was addressing reporters on the occasion of the release today of the UNICEF annual report on the State of the World's Children 2008, and said that strong political leadership can bring along positive change in the lives of children and here she sited Ethiopia whose Prime minister in 2004 set the stage for a road map for universal health care.

The report says that 26,000 children under the age of five die each day, most of them from preventable causes. However, the report adds that the annual number of child deaths has been halved from roughly 20 million in 1960 to 9.7 million in 2006. "More than 80 percent of all under-five deaths in 2006 were in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia," says the report. The report says that a child born in sub-Saharan Africa in 2006 has one in six chances of dying before his or her fifth birthday. "An estimated 530,000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2006, mostly through mother-to-child transmission," says the report. Contaminated water, poor sanitation and inadequate hygiene, says the report, kills about 1.5 million children per year due to diarrhea diseases. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, who attended the launch of the report with Veneman, said that stepping up investment in health systems will be crucial to meet the child health targets set by the United Nations.

Deputy Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Filippo Grandi said the situation in the West Bank and Gaza is dire and getting worse. "With the total shut down of Gaza, the vast majority of people there are now dependent on United Nations assistance, which is now in serious jeopardy. In the West Bank, hundreds of physical obstacles are destroying the economy and hindering aid delivery at a time when the international community is trying to put new life into efforts to get the peace process back on track and build capacity and institutions," he added. According to the most recent figures, 57 per cent of Palestinian households are living in poverty, with about 49 per cent in the West Bank and 79 per cent in the Gaza Strip.

On the other hand, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeir warned against "naive optimism" regarding peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, at the same time emphasizing that there still are many obstacles standing in the way.

Steinmeir said in a press conference with visiting Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad -- at the conclusion of the talks they held at the foreign ministry building in Berlin -- that he hoped current difficulties in Gaza would lead both Israeli and Palestinian officials to the negotiating table to bring about at the end of this year the commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel living side by side in peace.

Steinmeir noted the positive German role in undertaking projects in the Palestinian territories, indicating, "we need now to achieve the various projects and quickly," saying that would be a reward for peace.

Steinmeir said that both Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have reiterated and confirmed recently that obstacles to negotiations could be overcome.

Fayyad on his part warned at the same press conference of the "dangerous situation in Gaza Strip" calling for the importance of reopening the crossings speedily. He noted the difficult economic conditions in Gaza, warning that it will lead to violence and urged immediate improvement measures.

Fayyad demanded that Israel stop building settlements, stressing that "the peace process and achieving a Palestinian state on land occupied by Israel in 1967 require Israel's commitment to the road map to peace in the Middle East and to stop building settlements.

Fayyad had arrived from Madrid on a visit to Germany at the invitation of Steinmeir and met with Chancellor Angela Merkel who affirmed her support for economic measures taken within the autonomous Palestinian territories.

In Yemen, Around 5,000 Yemenis took to the streets in the capital Sana'a to denounce what was termed the 'siege' imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip.

Protesters shouted slogans including 'Shame on you, shame on you, the people of Gaza are under siege,' as they gathered outside a compound housing offices of the United Nations missions.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on his fellow Arab leaders to hold an emergency summit to discuss the Israeli lockdown of the Gaza Strip and military operations in the territory.

Saleh made the request in a phone call to Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, whom he asked to call for a meeting at the foreign minister level to prepare for an Arab summit early in February.

The Yemeni leader denounced the Israeli actions in Gaza as 'insulting to all Arabs,' according to the state news agency Saba.

Pakistan on Wednesday condemned recent Israeli occupation raids and a blockade of Gaza and called for international help for the resumption of supplies to the stricken territory. A prolonged Israeli blockade of Gaza was tightened six days ago to a full-scale lockdown, with Israel halting all fuel shipments and even the entry of humanitarian aid, with the aim of stopping rocket fire from the territory.

"Pakistan condemns the recent Israeli acts of aggression against the people of Gaza," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told a weekly news briefing. "We call upon the international community to ensure an urgent and complete lifting of Israeli blockade on Gaza and the resumption of fuel, food and other humanitarian supplies to the suffering Palestinian people," he said.

"The increased Israeli hostilities have exacerbated the humanitarian suffering and economic hardship of the Palestinian people," Sadiq said. He added that at the request of Iran, the executive committee of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, the world's largest grouping of Muslim nations, would meet at or immediately after the weekend.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel expressed regret over the Israeli regime's continued crimes and brutality against Palestinians, and reminded that the city of Gaza is now experiencing an extensive human catastrophe. He promised that all the parliament members will share in a protest march against the Israeli brutality and in collaboration with the Palestinian people.