Washington has given Israel a blank cheque to do as it likes with Muslims they don't like. To listen to the abject silence coming from the government and the leader of the Liberal Party, we're doing the same. At least Harper and Ignatieff could grow a pair and say they approve of the Israeli assault.
The Europeans, however, have had enough and they've broken with America on the latest assault on Gaza. From AFP:
France spearheaded alarmed reaction from European nations as Israeli tanks and troops pushed into the Gaza Strip, revealing a sharp difference in tone from the official line in Washington.
At least 460 Palestinians have been killed and thousands wounded in an eight-day bombing campaign, according to Gaza medics, as Israeli tanks clashed overnight with Hamas fighters who fired back with mortars and rockets.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the decision to send ground forces into Gaza after a week of air strikes was a "dangerous military escalation", while Britain called for an immediate ceasefire.
The European Union's new Czech presidency said Israel did not have the right to take military actions "which largely affect civilians," though its launching of land operations in the Gaza Strip was no surprise.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon "called for an immediate end to the ground operation, and asked that Israel do all possible to ensure the protection of civilians and that humanitarian assistance is able to reach those in need," his office said in a statement.
The secretary general spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and "conveyed his extreme concern and disappointment," said the statement.
"He is convinced and alarmed that this escalation will inevitably increase the already heavy suffering of the affected civilian populations."
At the same time, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said: "Even the indisputable right of the state to defend itself does not allow actions which largely affect civilians."
France, which held the rotating EU presidency until December 31, 2008, went further, with Kouchner saying his country "condemns the Israeli ground offensive against Gaza just as it condemns the continuing firing of rockets".
Too bad we don't have leaders of that calibre in Canada.
"At least Harper and Ignatieff could grow a pair and say they approve of the Israeli assault."
ReplyDeleteBut they have. By saying that Israel has "the right" to defend itself then they are in agreement with Israel's actions. That's how I interpret it.