 We
are just as horrified as Arab
leaders and Arab peoples about
the atrocities in the occupied
areas -- and indeed in Israel.
.
.
-- Original version, Peter
Hain speaking
|
 London, Friday, October 26, 2001
Hain
beats a retreat over Israeli
'atrocities' 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
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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
| 
write to David
Irving