London, Friday, October 26, 2001

---

 

By Anton La Guardia,
Diplomatic Editor

Pictures added by this website:

What the British and U.S. public does not see

Alive at 10:02 – dead at 10:05

Click to enlarge. From the Israeli forces website (PS: we don’t recall the Nazis boasting of their killings like this)

PETER HAIN, the Foreign Office minister, came close yesterday to accusing Israel of committing “terrorist acts” in Palestinian areas.

Speaking to foreign correspondents in London, he said: “We are just as horrified as Arab leaders and Arab peoples about the atrocities in the occupied areas — and indeed in Israel.

“It’s absolutely vital that this tit-for-tat violence stops and that people get round the negotiating table and start talking rather than fighting. “We deplore all assassinations, all terrorist attacks, whether suicide bombs in Tel Aviv or terrorist acts in the occupied areas.”

The mere hint that Israeli forces are responsible for terrorist acts and atrocities would be unprecedented in British diplomacy.

Last night Mr Hain hurriedly explained that he had been referring not to Israeli forces but to extremists among Jewish settlers “who commit random acts of violence”.

He said: “I am not for a moment equating Israeli actions in the occupied territories with terrorist acts.

“Israel is a legitimate government with an army. We wish they were not in the occupied territories. To suggest that that is equivalent to terror is nonsense. But equally, I regard many of the actions of the Israeli forces as unacceptable.”

Related items on this website:

  Hain must pay his secretary £3,000 for unfair sacking