Israel must withdraw troops in compliance with U.N. resolution -- Akahata editorial, April 7

The full-scale war conducted by the Israeli Sharon government against Palestinians has put almost all Palestinian-controlled areas under Israeli occupation. This outrage will only destroy all efforts that have been made for Middle East peace, including the 1993 Oslo Accords for peace and co-existence, which was reached after the nearly 50 years of conflicts.

U.S. government is responsible for the injustice

It's almost a week since Israel occupied the Palestinian Authority office and placed Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat under virtual house arrest, calling him an "enemy." It is said that Arafat's life is in danger. What Israel is doing amounts to suppressing defenseless Palestinians with its overwhelming military force, including many tanks and state-of-the-art military aircraft.

The Palestinian Authority and Palestinian-controlled territories represent the setup under the Oslo Accords which Israel itself signed to ensure the self-rule of Palestinian people.

Lands under Palestinian self-rule are limited to a tiny part of what used to be Palestinian territory, but they are definitely the regions governed by the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority is the government elected by Palestinians in occupied territories and President Arafat is their elected leader officially.

Palestinian suicide bombings can't be justified for any reasons, as they are targeting ordinary citizens and killing them. Remember that repeated suicide bombings have increased fears among Israeli citizens, thwarted Israeli people's call for negotiations instead of military force, and even given a helping hand to the Sharon government's continued use of force.

The U.S. government is also responsible for the present situation because it has provided political and military support to Israel, which has occupied Palestinian land.

It is serious that the U.S. Bush administration's unilateral war policy maintained since September 11, 2001 under the pretext of the need to combat terrorism,, is encouraging the Sharon government.

Prime Minister Sharon said, "Like the U.S. under the courageous leadership of Bush going full force against terrorism, so shall we, with every means we have." President Bush has defended the Sharon government's barbarity as action in "self-defense" and said that it is "understandable."

Clearly, international criticism has pushed Bush into calling for withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian-controlled towns. However, his repeated denunciations of Arafat show that his fundamental attitude towards Palestinians has not changed at all.

Far from withdrawing its troops, Israel continues to expand its occupation and its brutalities even against foreigners, including U.N. staff members and journalists.

The Bush Administration must now take responsibility for having incited the war, and take a firm action towards the Israeli government to realize the swift withdrawal of the Israeli forces.

Not only Arab nations but almost all countries, including the EU countries, are protesting against the Israeli atrocities. As a result, the U.N. Security Council on March 30 adopted Resolution 1402 calling for a cease-fire and the withdrawal of the Israeli Army.

Prospects for peace

The U.N. Security Council on April 3 held an emergency meeting, and adopted a new resolution (Resolution 1403) demanding that Israel comply with Resolution 1402 without delay.

The Israeli government must accept the U.N. resolutions as the world's demands. Israel must pull out its troops from Palestinian-controlled towns, recognize Palestinian rights to establish an independent Palestine state, and establish their peaceful co-existence.

This is the only way to end the tragedy and bring prospects for peace to the Middle East. (end)