Hollow Policy On Mideast? - CBS

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 CBS News Reporter Charles Wolfson is a former Tel Aviv bureau chief for CBS News, who now covers the State Department.


In a rare public display of disapproval the Bush administration this week found it could not defend Israel’s current tactics in Gaza. By choosing to abstain rather than veto a U.N. Security Council resolution which condemned Israel’s demolition of houses in Gaza and the killing of innocent civilians, Washington allowed the resolution to pass and, in the process, signaled Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government it had gone too far this time in its pursuit of Palestinian terrorists.

It’s no secret that Palestinian terrorists have been using tunnels from Egypt into Gaza to smuggle weapons to use against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Israeli officials say one reason for their latest offensive is the fact that heavier weapons such as rocket propelled grenades and certain launchers and other weapons have been smuggled in lately and have been used in attacks on Israeli soldiers -- 13 of whom were killed last week in Gaza. Part of Israel’s retaliation involved demolishing houses built over tunnels.

Israel’s Vice Premier Ehud Olmert said, "When there’s a tunnel and we want to destroy the tunnel, then damage will be done." Speaking with reporters at the State department after meeting Secretary of State Colin Powell, Olmert said, "We’re not destroying houses. Houses are damaged when tunnels are found." Those words probably didn’t mean much to those made homeless. The Palestinians and U.N. officials see a broader pattern where the Israeli army demolishes entire areas of houses, not just those where tunnels are found.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/20/opinion/diplomatic/main618823.shtml