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Czech FM: Finding Gaza truce is a 'main role' of the EU
By News Agencies
Tags: Israel news, Israel, Gaza 

The European Union's 'main role' is to seek a ceasefire in Gaza, the Czech prime minister said on Thursday as he took over the bloc's rotating presidency and announced a diplomatic mission to the Middle East.



Mirek Topolanek said the EU should not be deterred by lack of progress towards a political solution and the absence of any major U.S. initiative, as President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take over from George W. Bush on January 20.
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"It must not mean that the European Union ... will give up on organizing a cease-fire," Topolanek told Czech TV. "I think it's our main role in the coming days and weeks."

In taking over the EU presidency from France, the Czechs assumed a key role in tackling the crisis in Gaza. In a bid to halt rocket attacks from the coastal strip, Israel launched an offensive last week that has so far claimed more than 400 Palestinian lives.

Topolanek said he was organising a diplomatic mission to the Middle East that would include the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana, its External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt would take part and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner would also be invited. The mission will go to Cairo, Tel Aviv, the West Bank city of Ramallah - where the Palestinian Authority is based - and the Jordanian capital Amman, Czech officials said.

The trip will coincide with a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to the area on Jan. 5, the first by a major power since Israel launched air strikes on Gaza last week.

"It is overlapping with the trip of Nicolas Sarkozy to Syria and Lebanon ... I spoke with [Sarkozy] for a long time yesterday and we dealt with the problem in detail," Topolanek said.

He said that, with Bush not taking a leading role on the conflict, it would fall to Europe to lead efforts.

"The unpleasant thing is that we cannot count on the U.S. administration... It is up to the European Union to take over the initiative," Topolanek said. The situation was "kind of waiting for the new administration of Obama," he said.

The French and Czechs have struck differing tones towards the violence, with Schwarzenberg, a staunch U.S. ally, defending Israel's strikes this week. But Topolanek's comments made clear Prague backs calls by France and others for a ceasefire, a move Israel has rejected.

U.S. balks at Arab push for UN resolution to impose Gaza truce

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council, meeting for emergency consultations Wednesday night, rejected an Arab request for a legally binding resolution that would condemn Israel and halt its attacks.

A draft resolution was immediately rejected by the United States as unbalanced because it made no mention of halting Hamas rocket fire at Israeli towns - the immediate cause behind the massive air offensive Israel launched Saturday.

Diplomatic efforts by leaders in the United States, Europe and the Middle East appeared to be having little effect. A French proposal for a 48-hour
cease-fire to allow humanitarian supplies into Gaza failed to gain traction. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said the time was not ripe to consider it. A separate proposal by Turkey and Egypt, two of Israel's few allies in the Muslim world, also seemed to be attracting little serious study in Israel or Gaza, where Hamas was also dismissed talk of a truce.

During the meeting on Wednesday, Arab countries pushed for a resolution to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants.

Libya, the only Arab country on the 15-nation council, presented a draft resolution but both Arab and Western diplomats said they doubted any vote would be held on Wednesday and would probably come in the next few days.

But the language of the resolution, obtained by Reuters, appeared unacceptable in its present form to the veto-holding United States and other Western countries, diplomats said.

The Arab-drafted resolution called for "an immediate ceasefire and for its full respect by both sides." It also demanded protection for Palestinian civilians, opening of border crossings into Gaza and "restoration of calm in full."

It denounced "the excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel" but its only mention of rocket attacks by Palestinian militants on Israel was a vague reference to "the deterioration of the situation in southern Israel."

"It's going to need a lot of work," one Western diplomat said of the resolution.

On Sunday the council had issued a statement, which lacks the weight of a resolution, calling for a halt to the violence in Gaza but the United States says any ceasefire must be durable and binding on the Hamas Islamists who control Gaza, as well as on Israel.

Israel, which began air strikes on Gaza on Saturday to try to stamp out the Palestinian rocket fire, on Wednesday rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Following a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo on Wednesday, an Arab ministerial delegation is expected to arrive in New York in the next few days to press the Arab case on Gaza at the United Nations, diplomats said.

British Ambassador John Sawers told reporters he believed a balanced resolution would have "a good chance of support" in the council.

But Israeli Ambassador Gabriela Shalev and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the best approach was to reach an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians to end the fighting and then enshrine it in a resolution, rather than the council trying to impose a ceasefire.

"Israel cannot, and will not, allow its citizens to be sitting ducks for terrorist attacks," she said. "Israel will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its citizens and stop terrorism."

She said any resolution must be balanced and ensure that the violence by Hamas ends.

Khalilzad said the United States is working very hard to achieve an immediate cease-fire implemented by both sides - but he said Washington has not seen any evidence yet that Hamas is willing to end its rocket attacks.

"The best way to move forward," he said, "would be to get an agreement among the parties for a cease-fire and humanitarian access to Gaza through diplomacy, and for that agreement to be enshrined in a Security Council resolution if necessary."

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, said Arab nations would be working day and night to get council approval of a binding resolution that would condemn the crimes committed by Israel and stop the military aggression, and provide protection for the Palestinians and lift the siege.

"We face a very dangerous crossroads in the Middle East as a direct consequence of this Israeli aggression... [which] is threatening the life and prosperity of 1.5 million Palestinian and also threatens to undermine the peace efforts," he said.


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      1.   "It`s Going To Need A Lot Of Work" 05:31  |  Jeff Northridge 01/01/09
      2.   Truth 08:34  |  Mortadella 01/01/09
      3.   The UN should not forget its demand of Hamas that has not been... 08:35  |  Jehudah Ben-Israel 01/01/09
      4.   NO to Un imposed cease fire 08:41  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 01/01/09
      5.   IT`S OCCUPATION, STUPID 10:42  |  Shadi 01/01/09
      6.   The Only Option 14:16  |  George Kaplan 01/01/09
      7.   this resolution turns victory into another Lebanon 15:09  |  zionist forever 01/01/09
      8.   Balanced resolution 16:07  |  Motic 01/01/09
      9.   Why should the border crossings be opened? 16:44  |  Arie 01/01/09
      10.   Riyadh Mansour says it all 16:48  |  Arie 01/01/09
      11.   EU UN Hipocrisy in action 19:35  |  PK 01/01/09
      12.   No truce with Hamas 20:03  |  Harry 01/01/09
      13.   Both Arabia`s and Eurabia`s leaders need to pay lip service. 20:11  |  Fortuna Benmayor 01/01/09
      14.   European expertise 20:17  |  Leon 01/01/09
      15.   Shadi "Geneva Conventions giving the Occupied right to resist" 00:33  |  17 02/01/09
      16.   Where the EU can stick it`s concern 02:45  |  Mark Lincoln 02/01/09
      17.   Pardon me. but I wonder were was the EU in . . . 19:33  |  Zev Davis 03/01/09
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