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AAI in the News

Arab Leader Sees Mideast as Root Cause of Anger

By Jonathan Wright
Reuters
Posted on Monday October 22, 2001

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa said on Monday that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a root cause of the Arab anger that gives ``terrorists’’ a chance to hide behind a legitimate cause.

After the United States deals with Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, the target of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan, it should move on to resolve the conflict, he told a Washington lunch organized by the Arab American Institute.

``Only by resolving ongoing conflicts can we effectively deprive terrorists of hiding behind legitimate causes and gaining sympathizers,’’ he said.

``Phase two of the international effort should focus on the root causes of terrorism. Frustration, despair and anger are sentiments which, if unchecked, can be channeled into destructive acts,’’ added the former Egyptian foreign minister.

``The anger in the Middle East, the frustration and despair, emanate chiefly from the major injustice done to the Palestinians and other Arabs and the continued occupation and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel,’’ he said.

Israel says that, on the contrary, violence by Palestinian groups should be the next target of the U.S. campaign, which opened early this month with air strikes on Afghanistan.

The United States accuses bin Laden and his al Qaeda organization of planning the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings which killed nearly 5,400 people in New York and Washington.

It says it intends to target all ``terrorist groups of global reach’’ but has not specified which ones it has in mind.

In the meantime, Washington is trying to muster Arab support for its campaign against bin Laden by saying it is not waging war on the Arab and Muslim worlds.

WITHDRAWAL TO 1967 BORDERS

Moussa said: ``If we are serious about the security of the world… we must all concede that reaching a just, comprehensive and balanced settlement ( between Israelis and Palestinians) is an imperative.’’

Middle East peace should be based on ``relevant Security Council resolutions and the principle of land for peace’’ he said, reiterating the standard Arab League position.

This should include Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, a viable Palestinian state and a fair solution for Jerusalem and for Palestinian refugees, he said.

``What we need is a serious process, one whose outcome is known and agreed and defined… Time is of the essence. We need to work quickly,’’ he added.

Israel and the United States say the outcome should emerge through direct negotiations, not be defined in advance.

Moussa said he understood American anger at the attacks of Sept. 11 but was deeply concerned at the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, where a crisis is looming over deliveries of food after three years of drought. The U.S. air strikes have frightened off some relief aid truck drivers.

``I call for the protection of innocent civilians and addressing the plight of refugees. I agree with what Secretary Powell (Secretary of State Colin Powell) expressed yesterday concerning the hope that this campaign comes to an end soon,’’ he added.

Asked whether he thought that the shortage of democracy in the Arab world was also a root cause of frustration, Moussa said that this was not the issue after Sept. 11.

``There is one thing above all that is looming over, with despair, and that is the Palestinian question. Many things depend on it,’’ he said.