For 17 months, fighting between Israelis and Palestinians has followed a pattern: a controlled level of bloodshed that includes periodic surges and occasional cease-fires. But in the past week, the violence has spiraled out of control, which attracted the world attention. The International Community expresses serious concern about the Mideast situation.
UN Urges End of Violence
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday called Palestinians and Israelis to stop escalation of violence. In a statement through his spokesman, Annan said the leaders of both sides should ask themselves where the current cycle of violence, reprisal and revenge is leading. The people of both sides "will only lose if the present drift towards disaster is allowed to continue," he warned.
Blames Israel, US to Send Envoy Back
US Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday criticized Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's declaration of war on the Palestinians, saying the policy will not work and should be reassessed. US President George W. Bush announced on Thursday he is sending his Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni back to the region to try to halt escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Bush said Zinni would go back to the region next week, but he thought, "there are no assurances" the move would lead to a resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.
China Calls for Dialogue
The Chinese government Wednesday again called on both Israel and Palestine to end their retaliatory violent and bloody conflict immediately, and to resolve their disputes through dialogue and negotiation. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan made the remarks in response to a journalist's question on the recent serious escalation of the Mideast. He said that China is extremely worried about the recent escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine, that the international community should pay more attention to the tense situation tand increase mediation efforts to impel Israel and Palestine to resume peace talks at an early date.
Russia Appeals for Political Cooperation
Andrei Vdovin, special envoy on Mideast issues of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wednesday urged Israel and Palestine to take measures to resume their political cooperation in the field of security. Vdovin said this when being interviewed by a leading Russian newspaper. In his opinion, the Israeli side must first stop military activities and withdraw its troops from Palestinian region while the Palestinian side must stop their terrorism. Only in this way can the two sides cooperate. He said Russia support the peace proposal by Saudi Arabia.
Canada Criticizes Sharon
Canada on Wednesday criticized Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's policy of striking hard against Palestinian militants, saying Ottawa questioned "certain practices" that caused civilian casualties. The move by Foreign Minister Bill Graham marked a change in recent Canadian policy toward the Middle East; since Ottawa has followed Washington's line that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat must do more to stop attacks by militant groups.
(Edited by Zheng Guihong for china.org.cn according to news of Xinhua News Agency and China Daily March 8, 2002)
