The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday said the suicide bombing in a pool hall, which killed 16 Israelis on Tuesday in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rishon Lezion, was counterproductive.
"These people are not doing this for a Palestinian state or for the sake of peace but for their own radical image," UAE Information Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
"The attack...does not only benefit the extremist wing within Israel and serves its interests, but also deals a blow to efforts by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan to defuse escalating violence in our region," said the minister, who is a son of UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, speaking on behalf of the European Union, and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien Wednesday condemned the latest suicide bombing in Israel and called on the Palestinian leadership to punish those responsible.
Aznar told a joint news conference with Chretien that the EU and Canada "condemn with total firmness" Tuesday’s suicide bombing.
Aznar, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, also said he "demands with total firmness not only condemnation" from the Palestinian leadership headed by Yasser Arafat, "but also the pursuit of all those who may be linked to terrorist activities."
In a statement, the EU and Canada stressed that there was "no military solution to the conflict" and said peace must be based on the principle of exchanging territory for peace. (Albawaba.com)
