Asia

Asia

Abbas: Â«Israeli aggression will threaten peace processÂ»

22 December 2010 19:32 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. PA president tells EU rep. that IDF operation will lead to collapse of int’l peace efforts; Erekat blames Israel for escalation; Deputy PM Meridor: Israel will do everything in its power to end rocket fire, APA reports quoting â€œThe Jerusalem Postâ€.

In response to the recent escalation of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, top Palestinian and Israeli officials on Wednesday traded accusations over responsibility for recent the violence.

Palestinian Authority officials warned Israel against launching an attack on the Gaza Strip, while Hamas leaders announced they will file a UN complaint against ’Zionist aggression.’ In addition, United Nations Middle East envoy Robert Serry condemned the "indiscriminate" rocket and mortar fire and Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor promised to put an end to attacks.

â€œAny new Israeli aggression would put the entire peace process in real danger,â€ PA President Mahmoud Abbas said during a meeting in his office with the EU representative to the Palestinian territories, Christian Berger.

Abbas said that an IDF operation would also â€œlead to the collapse of all international efforts aimed at salvaging peace.â€

He urged the EU to play a larger role in the Middle East peace process, â€œespecially because of the EUâ€™s huge political and economic weight, which enables it to impact all parties to back the peace process.â€

The PA president also complained about Israelâ€™s policy of construction in settlements and east Jerusalem.

Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat expressed â€œdeep concern and fearâ€ over the latest escalation along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Blaming Israel for the escalation, Erekat said the deterioration was dangerous and has â€œmany repercussions which make us feel very worried.â€

Erekat too warned Israel against launching a new â€œaggressionâ€ on the Gaza Strip, saying such a move would lead to â€œmore complications.â€ He also cautioned that a military operation would â€œpush the region toward more anarchy and bloodshed.â€

Erekat claimed that Israel had a strategic interest in seeing divisions among the Palestinians continue.

He accused the Israeli government of waging a campaign to convince the world that the PA and Abbas are not peace partners. The Israeli government is responsible for the failure of the peace process because of its refusal to stop the construction in the settlements, Erekat charged.

He also demanded clarifications from the US about a recent WikiLeaks cable that talked about an agreement between Israel and the US Administration according to which â€œnatural growthâ€ in the settlements would continue.

’Hamas to file UN complaint’

Hamas, meanwhile, said it would file a complaint with the UN and the Arab League against the â€œrecent Zionist escalation.â€

The Hamas government is planning to contact many governments around the world to â€œexplain the aggressive intentions of the occupation leaders,â€ said Taher a-Nunu, spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza City.

He said that Israeli threats to launch an attack on the Gaza Strip coincided with Fatahâ€™s continued crackdown on Hamas supporters in the West Bank. â€œHamas is facing big challenges as the leaders of the occupation threaten to eliminate Hamas,â€ he complained. â€œThis is in addition to the campaign of arrests and repression waged by Fatah security forces against the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank.â€

A-Nunu claimed that Fatah was holding more than 3,000 Hamas supporters in its prisons in the West Bank. He said that among the detainees there were university lecturers, journalists and students.

’UN’s Serry condemns rocket fire’

Earlier Wednesday, UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry condemned the "firing of indiscriminate mortars and rockets by militant groups in Gaza at Israel which has escalated in recent days."

"These attacks are in clear violation of international humanitarian law and endanger civilians in Israel,’’ Serry said in a statement.

He said that Israel has a right to self-defense but urged Jerusalem "to exercise maximum restraint and take every precaution to ensure that its forces do not endanger civilians in Gaza."

Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor on Wednesday said that Israel cannot accept continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and that he hoped another large scale offensive in the territory like Operation Cast Lead wouldn’t be necessary. Meridor’s comments came in an interview with Israel Radio.

Meridor stated that Hamas has not done enough lately to prevent other organizations from firing rockets into residential areas of the Negev. He added that Israel will continue to respond decisively to rocket fire until the attacks from Gaza stop completely.

On Tuesday, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Meron Reuben filed a complaint with the Security Council about the rocket and mortar fire from Gaza.
Israel pounded Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in the most extensive aerial bombardment since Operation Cast Lead two years ago.

At least three Hamas operatives were killed during the bombing of arms storehouses and smuggling tunnels along the border with Egypt, and in the pummeling of tunnels being dug toward Israel.

The IAF strikes came in response to multiple attacks on southern Israel from Gaza.

A Kassam rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into the Ashkelon area on Tuesday morning, landing in Kibbutz Zikim. The rocket exploded near a kindergarten, as dozens of parents were dropping off their children at school, injuring a 14-year old girl.

The incident followed a spate of attacks emanating from Gaza in the previous days, encompassing the launch of some three rockets and 18 mortars into the regions of Eshkol and Ashkelon. These attacks included the launch of six mortars on Sunday at IDF forces operating near the Kerem Shalom Crossing.