Israel 'Fuelling Extremism' - EU

[Classical_Liberal]

Israel 'Fuelling Extremism' - EU

The European Union warned Israel today that its military actions and restrictive policies in the West Bank and Gaza were “fuelling 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.

They warned that the humanitarian situation in Palestinian areas was “sharply deteriorating ... making life increasingly intolerable for ordinary Palestinians and fuelling extremism and support to fundamentalist groups to the detriment of popular support to the Palestinian Government.”

http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2191763

[edzontar]

1. This is, sadly, quite true....

Which does not JUSTIFY terrorism, but helps explain why it keeps happening....

OK so flame away--I blame both sides, though, remember that...

[Resistance]

2. it's actually

exactly what Sharon wants to do: fuel extremism in order to justify his own plan for stealing more land and terrorizing Palestinians (and it's not just only Sharon's plan, obviously).

[rini]

3. typical

blame the victim; now that Europe is 'becoming the victim" will they wake up or keep their collective heads in the sand?

[Dutch]

7. Because of course...

no European states have ever been victims of terrorism before....

Honestly.......

[Gimel]

4. The fuel

The existence of Israel is enough to get many radicals started. The fact that The Jews, who built a nation, succeeded where they had failed in the past, is another sore point. Despite all the hardships in building while defending attacks has strengthened the people and the nation. Sure they are angry.

Israel, however, is not the sole fuet that burns the extremists passion. The atfacks the US, the US Cole, US embassies and now on the British consulate in Turky tell a different story.

[bluesoul]

5. Radicals?

LOL, anyone not agreeing with Sharon and his policy is now a radical, extremist would be probably the next choice. Give me a break!

[rini]

6. Once again

oh mighty mind reader......don't

[Classical_Liberal]

9. No she used the term extremist

see

Israel, however, is not the sole fuet that burns the extremists passion.

[Classical_Liberal]

8. No it is the fact that they made Palestinians homeless in the

process. You're thesis proposes Palestinians won't respond negatively to having their homes taken like most humans. You are clearly in denial. The attacks in Turkey were not done by the PA. They were done by muslim neocons called Al Qaeda, who want a clash of civilizations. These muslim neocons view israel and Jews as being the same just like israeli and American neocons.

[Gimel]

11. Sorry to have mislead you

I didn't say that the attacks in Turkey were done by the PA. The PA is the governing branch of the Palestinian operation. The Hamas and Islamic Jihad are the militant arm. The are also Muslims.

However, you say that the "muslim neocons view israel and Jews as being the same" so you agree that they would certainly attack Israel if they could. There are in sympathy and there is little doubt that they share intelligence.

[Classical_Liberal]

12. Yes they would attack Israel

I doubt there is any intelligence sharing, or much sympathy, since the goals of Al Qaeda are imperialist. The goal of the Palestinians is nationalist.

[Gimel]

13. The truth

will be known. Arafat has his backing in international circles. Perhaps "Nationalistic" but also calling for distruction of Israel and therefore a goal shared by al Qaeda.

[Paschall]

10. The EU statement - Please read

You'll note, from the passage I've put in bold, that the Scotsman has extrapolated broadly in its headline and lead sentence from a paragraph concerned solely with EU humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.

<snip> The EU strongly condemns the intensification of suicide attacks and other acts of violence that have occurred over the last few weeks and calls upon all sides to refrain from any provocative action which can further escalate the tension.

Terrorist attacks against Israel have no justification whatsoever. The EU reiterates that the fight against terrorism in all its forms remains one of the priorities of the European Union as well as of the entire international Community and that it is the duty of all countries, in particular of those in the region, to actively co-operate in the fight against terrorism and to abstain from all support, direct or indirect, to terrorist organisations. ...

The EU emphasises once again that the Palestinian Authority must concretely demonstrate its determination in the fight against extremist violence and urges the PA and its President to take immediate, decisive steps to consolidate all Palestinian security services under the clear control of a duly empowered Prime Minister and Interior Minister, and confront individuals and groups conducting and planning terrorist attacks.

The EU recognises Israel's right to protect its citizens from terrorist attacks. It urges the Government of Israel, in exercising this right, to exert maximum effort to avoid civilian casualties and take no action that aggravates the humanitarian and economic plight of the Palestinian people. It also calls on Israel to abstain from any punitive measures which are not in accordance with international law, including extra-judicial killings and destruction of houses.

The EU reiterates that actions to remove the elected President of the Palestinian Authority would be contrary to international law and counterproductive to the efforts at reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict.

{full paragraph} Decisive steps must be taken to reverse the sharply deteriorating humanitarian situation in the West Bank and Gaza which is making life increasingly intolerable for ordinary Palestinians and fuelling extremism and support to fundamentalist groups to the detriment of popular support to the Palestinian Government. The EU, which is one of the largest donors to the Palestinian Authority, is providing assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people, as well as to support structural reforms in view of a future Palestinian State. This assistance is becoming increasingly difficult and costly for the EU to provide. The EU calls on the Government of Israel to facilitate the reform of the Palestinian Authority and increase efforts to ease the plight of the Palestinian people by taking on more responsibility from the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population. In the meantime, it is necessary that humanitarian access and security of humanitarian personnel and their installations be guaranteed. Full safe and unfettered access of humanitarian personnel to the Palestinian territories is crucial. We attach importance to the work carried out by UNRWA, other agencies and NGOs in order to improve living conditions and alleviate human suffering. </snip> (more)

On line here: http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/er/77932.pdf