- WORLD CAPITALS (IslamOnline.net
& News Agencies) -- The whole world slammed Israel for its extrajudicial
execution of newly-appointed Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Abdelaziz Rantissi,
with the European Union dubbing it "unlawful and provocative".
Washington alone, however, defended Israel.
-
- In Straffan, Ireland, E.U. Foreign Policy Chief Javier
Solana said late Saturday, April17 , that Israel's extrajudicial execution
of Rantissi was "not conducive to lowering tension".
-
- "The European Union has consistently condemned extrajudicial
killings," Solana said in a statement issued during talks between
E.U. and Asian foreign ministers, according to Reuters.
-
- "Israel has a right to protect its citizens from
terrorist attacks, but actions of this type are not only unlawful, they
are not conducive to lowering tension."
-
- Calling it a "violation of international law",
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan called on Israel to "immediately
end" the practice of "extrajudicial killings".
-
- In a statement issued by his spokesman, Annan condemned
the Rantissi extrajudicial execution and urged Palestinians and Israelis
to resume negotiations based on the Middle East roadmap drawn by the U.N.,
U.S., European Union and Russia, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
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- Israel assassinated Rantissi in a helicopter strike in
the Gaza Strip Saturday, less than a month after he succeeded Hamas founder
and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, whom Israel killed in a similar
attack.
-
- Portuguese Foreign Minister Teresa Gouveia said the extrajudicial
execution "in no way contributes to the resolution of the Middle East
conflict".
-
- British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said such assassinations
were wrong and unhelpful to peace.
-
- "The British government has made it repeatedly clear
that so-called targeted assassinations of this kind are unlawful, unjustified
and counterproductive," Straw said in a statement.
-
- Italy also warned that the extrajudicial execution could
lead to further bloodshed.
-
- "Italy, like the whole of the European Union, has
always condemned the practice of targeted assassinations, which contribute
to furthering the spiral of hatred and violence," Italian Foreign
Minister Franco Frattini said.
-
- Arabs Condemn
-
- The extrajudicial execution drew strong rebukes from
Arab countries, as well.
-
- Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said condemned
the assassination and slammed Israelís "state terrorism".
-
- "The continuation of this Israeli policy of aggression
demands serious action from the international community to secure international
protection for the Palestinian people," he said in a statement.
-
- Qatar was the first Arab state to officially condemn
the Rantissi extrajudicial killing branding it "a terrorist crime
by Israel," according to Aljazeera.
-
- The Jordanian government, which has a peace treaty with
Israel, convened an urgent meeting after the assassination and condemned
"the Israeli crime".
-
- In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher lashed
out at the Israeli crime, accusing Israel of driving the region to deep
abyss.
-
- The Peopleís Assembly (Egyptís lower house
of parliament) Arab Affairs Committee held an emergency meeting and issued
a statement condemning "Israelís state terrorism".
-
- Iranian Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi, calling Rantissi
a "martyr," said the assassination was a "big crime"
that "will only give fresh blood to the resistance (movement) in the
region."
-
- U.S. Defends Israel
-
- Singing like a canary, the White House defended Israel
which defiantly vowed to continue what it called "eliminating terrorists".
-
- "Israel has the right to defend itself from terrorist
attacks," the White House said in a statement. "Hamas is a terrorist
organization that attacks civilians."
-
- The statement said Israel should "consider carefully
the consequences of its actions" and called on "all parties to
exercise maximum restraint at this time".
-
- "The United States is gravely concerned for regional
peace and stability," the White House said.
-
- A U.S. State Department official told CNN Washington
neither gave "Israel any kind of green light" to kill Rantissi
nor had advance knowledge of the attack on his car in Gaza City.
-
- He was apparently responding to Palestinian Prime Minister
Ahmed Qorei charges that the extrajudicial execution was a "direct
result" of U.S. support for Israel.
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