Blair condemns Israel and opens rift with US

[Sticky]

Ewen MacAskill in Jerusalem and Patrick Wintour
Tuesday April 20, 2004
The Guardian

Tony Blair distanced himself from Washington yesterday by pointedly condemning the Israeli assassination of the Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi at the weekend.

George Bush's administration refused to criticise the killing and said Israel had a right of self-defence.

Mr Blair told parliament: "We condemn the targeted assassination of Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi just as we condemn all terrorism, including that perpetrated by Hamas."

-snip-

What makes this intervention even more stark is that it was made on behalf of the leader of an organisation that has launched hundreds of suicide attacks against Israel over the past four years.

Mr Blair could have opted, as he has done in the past, to leave the criticism to the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, who condemned the assassination at the weekend.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,1195710,00.html

[acmavm]

1. Now what's up with that?

.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. This is a good thing. Maybe they have learned that more war

is not the answer.:shrug:

[Moderator]

3. Please discuss here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x498294