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An Israeli artillery unit fires across the border into southern Lebanon from a position on the frontier near Granot , northern Israel. (AP)
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| By Associated Press July 13, 2006 |
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U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday that Israelis "need to protect themselves," as the Jewish state launched new attacks on Lebanon after the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.
But -- reflecting Western disagreement over the Mideast escalation -- the European Union called Israel's response, which included bombing Beirut's airport, "disproportionate" force.
"The presidency deplores the loss of civilian lives and the destruction of civilian infrastructure," according to a statement issued by Finland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency. "The imposition of an air and sea blockade on Lebanon cannot be justified."
The comments were echoed by France's foreign minister, who also said he supported Lebanon's call for U.N. Security Council intervention.
Bush did caution Israel against taking steps that might topple the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
But he laid the blame for the escalation of violence on Hezbollah, whose guerrillas mounted a cross-border raid earlier in the week and captured the two soldiers. He also said that Syria "needs to be held to account" for supporting and harboring Hezbollah.
"The soldiers need to be returned," the U.S. president said. "It's really sad where people are willing to take innocent life in order to stop that progress (for peace). As a matter of fact, it's pathetic."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- speaking along with Bush at a news conference in Stralsund on Germany's north coast -- appealed for restraint from both sides in the Mideast. But she suggested they did not share equal blame, noting that the violence began with the kidnapping.
"I think that one needs to be careful to make a distinction between the root causes and the consequences of something," she said.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Thursday he was planning a peace mission to the Middle East after consulting with players in the region and with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. He did not say when he might make the trip, but EU diplomats suggested Solana could leave before Monday.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy took a sharp tone, condemning Israel's actions as "a disproportionate act of war."
Bush also expressed concern about the Israeli actions. "My biggest concern is whether actions taken will weaken the Saniora government," he said during the news conference with Merkel.
"The concern here is that any activities by Israel to protect herself will weaken that government ... topple that government, and we have made that clear in our discussions."
"Having said all that, people need to protect themselves," Bush added.
He said that neither Hezbollah nor the militant arm of the Palestinian Hamas movement wanted peace, and blamed the outbreak of violence on those who wanted derail progress toward peace.
Bush urged commitment to a two-state solution, that is, Israel and a Palestinian state, "two democracies living side by side in peace."
"What will prevent that vision from being achieved is, are, terrorist activities, and that's what you're seeing taking place."
Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers during a cross-border raid Wednesday, triggering an Israeli assault with warplanes, tanks and gunboats as Israeli troops crossed the frontier to hunt for the captives. Airstrikes overnight to Thursday blasted the country's only international airport and the Hezbollah TV station.
Douste-Blazy said on France's Europe-1 radio that France was calling for "the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon to be preserved."
The Israeli air campaign -- its heaviest against Lebanon in 24 years -- could "plunge Lebanon back into the worst years of the war with the flight of thousands of Lebanese who ... were in the process of rebuilding their country," Douste-Blazy said.
The French foreign minister was apparently stepping up France's opposition to the Israeli campaign on a country with historical ties to Paris.
"Today, we support the Lebanese request that the U.N. Security Council take up the issue as soon as possible," he said.
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