Palestinian top diplomat calls Israel offensive ‘war of revenge’

AFP | The Hague                                               

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister yesterday said Israel’s offensive in Gaza was a “war of revenge”, as he called for a ceasefire in the conflict. The visit of Riyad al-Maliki to the Hague comes as Israel said a column of tanks and infantry had launched an overnight raid into Hamas-controlled Gaza.

It also comes as European Union officials in Brussels debated the situation and were set to call for “humanitarian pauses” in Israel’s war with Hamas. “This time the war that Israel is waging is different. This time... it’s a war of revenge,” Maliki said in The Hague.

“This war has no real objective than the total destruction of every livable corner in Gaza,” Maliki told reporters at the Palestinian Authority’s mission to The Hague. He said the need for a ceasefire was a top priority to get aid into Gaza, where the main UN agency warned Wednesday operations would cease as it was running out of fuel.

“First we need to end this aggression, this one-sided war, and then we need to call for a ceasefire,” he said, adding that “a ceasefire is essential... for the disribution of humanitarian aid”. But Maliki stressed that so-called “humanitarian pauses” would not alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

European Union leaders were set yesterday to call for “humanitarian corridors and pauses” in order for aid to reach civilians in Gaza. Maliki said he was not confident EU officials “would go for a full cease-fire. “But I am confident that they will have a very serious discussion and they will be able understand the difference between a humanitarian pause and a ceasefire.”