Mid East Assassinations Putting Peace out of Reach
Middle East: Continued Israeli Assassinations Putting
Peace out of Reach
Brussels, 20 April 200 (ICFTU OnLine): The ICFTU today condemned the Israeli government's continuing policy of targeted assassinations, following the killing of Palestinian Hamas leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi in Gaza on Saturday. Rantisi's son and a bodyguard were also killed in the missile attack, which also injured two others.
The killing follows the assassination of the previous Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin along with seven others on 22 March, also in Gaza. The ICFTU believes that the policy of targeted assassinations, which has been widely condemned by leaders from countries around the world, can only exacerbate the situation and put the prospects of a just and peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict even further out of reach.
Both sides must fully commit to the "Road Map" for peace, and the international community must do all it can to make the process work. In particular, the leaders of the USA, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, must follow through the commitments made when they launched the Road Map in 2003.