Israel targeting all regional countries
Tehran Times Political Desk

TEHRAN -- Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has warned Arab states that Israel is targeting all regional countries.

Israel is hatching plots against Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia in the UN Security Council, Larijani said here on Wednesday.

And Israel has become a regional nuisance, he added.

The remarks by Larijani came as the Zionist army was relentlessly pounding the Gaza Strip for the fifth consecutive day which has so far killed at least 390 Palestinians and wounded about 2000 others.

Commenting on the military assault on Gaza, he said, “This is not a minor event. If the Zionist regime is allowed to attain its objectives, the Middle East will not experience peace any more. The issue is not only related to Gaza and will not be confined to it.”

He also urged Islamic countries to be vigilant about traps, adding that they should not let ethnic and national biases convolute the issue, he added.

“The Gaza issue is not an Iranian-Arab issue. It is an Islamic-humanitarian issue, and the silence of (certain) countries in the face of the crimes in Gaza is a disgrace for them.”

Addressing Arab leaders, the Majlis speaker stated, “Our Arab friends should be aware that they are dealing with a regime that is plotting against them.”

Larijani insisted that the current state of affairs in the Gaza Strip is totally related to Iran’s national interests.

“If the Israelis succeed, our sovereignty will be jeopardized. Even if we do not look at the issue from a religious viewpoint but look at it from a national viewpoint, we should still defend the Gazans.”

---------Ahmadinejad urges UN, Arab League to halt Israeli crimes

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the international community and world bodies to meet their duties and end the current humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.

“The United Nations and the Security Council should pinpoint what their duties are. Isn’t it their duty to defend the oppressed and innocent people of the world against bullying and crimes?” he asked as he was addressing thousands of people in southeastern Iran.

Ahmadinejad criticized the UN for its silence in face of Israel’s brutal crimes in Gaza.

“If the Security Council is bound to defend and support all nations of the world… it is better to break its silence and not allow the occupying regime to continue its crimes.”

Addressing the UN secretary general, Ahmadinejad stated, “Mr. secretary general should know that he is responsible for such massacre of the people of Gaza.”

The president also slammed the Arab nations for their inaction over the overt slaughter of Gazans.

“Isn’t it the duty of the Arab League to defend the Arab countries? Aren’t the people of Palestine Arab? Why then has the Arab League is silent in the face of massacre of the oppressed and innocent people?”

-----------Erdogan calls Israel's attacks on Gaza ‘ruthless’

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip as ""ruthless"" as he embarked on a regional tour aimed at halting the ""dangerous developments"" of recent days, AFP reported.

""We have been deeply concerned over the developments in Gaza since this ruthless operation began on Saturday,"" Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday before flying to Syria, the first stop on his tour.

""The objective of my tour is to help stop these dangerous developments,"" he said.

""The attacks on Gaza should stop immediately and a permanent ceasefire should be urgently secured to prevent irreversible developments in the region,"" he added.

Erdogan said he was to hold talks first with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, followed by meetings with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in the Jordanian city of Aqaba later in the day.

He was to return to Ankara and then travel to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh Thursday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

He said the last stop on his tour would be Saudi Arabia, where he would meet King Abdullah Saturday.

-------------25 percent of Gaza killed civilians: UN

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Wednesday that at least 25 percent of Palestinians killed during Israel's massive offensive in the Gaza Strip have been civilians.

""A minimum of 25 percent of all those killed are civilians and it may well be far higher,"" UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness told AFP.

Since the start of the Israeli offensive on Saturday at least 390 Palestinians have been killed and another 1,900 wounded, according to Gaza medics. At least 42 of those killed have been children, they say.

--------- Senegal, for OIC, suggests firm time to halt Gaza conflict

Senegal, on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), suggested Wednesday that a date be set for a definitive halt to the fighting in Gaza.

""The international community could fix a date and time to mark the end of violence and the start of a permanent truce leading to negotiations and peace,"" the Senegalese foreign ministry said in a statement.

India also on Wednesday urged Israel to halt the air strikes on Gaza.

""We have strongly criticised that attack and we have urged Israel to stop those attacks,"" Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told reporters.

------ Hamas ready to halt attacks if Israel lifts Gaza blockade: Russia

Hamas is ready to halt its attacks on Israel if Israel lifts its blockade of Gaza, Russia's foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.

In a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the head of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, ""voiced readiness to cease armed confrontation but on condition of the lifting of the blockade of Gaza,"" the ministry said.

In a statement, the foreign ministry said Lavrov underlined the need for both sides to cease fire immediately and said Russia was ""deeply worried"" about the humanitarian situation

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