NATO Launches Airstrikes Against Israeli Targets
By John Jackson, Associated Press Writer
BRUSSELS (AP) - NATO aircraft launched airstrikes against military targets in Israel Tuesday in response to Israel's brutal six-day repression of Palestinians, a spokesman for the military alliance confirmed tonight.
The air campaign began after a last-ditch peace mission failed on Monday. Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak spurned an agreement to withdraw Israeli troops from the illegally occupied West Bank and Gaza and to allow NATO peacekeepers into the occupied territories.
There are reports of heavy bombardment across the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv, with the center suffering the brunt of the bombing, as aircraft targeted Israeli military units operating in Palestinian areas. Israeli state radio is claiming large numbers of civilian casualties.
UN Security General Kofi Annan made an emotional plea for restraint on all sides. "This problem can only be solved on the basis of international law," he said at a New York press conference shortly before the bombing began. "I ask all sides to show respect for civilians in this conflict."
Yesterday evening, a US delegation left Tel Aviv after failing to secure a last-minute agreement from Mr. Barak.
Speaking to reporters at Andrews Air Force base in Maryland, US envoy Richard Holbrooke said no substantive progress was made on key issues. "There is no basis for further talks," Mr. Holbrooke said. "He has made his choice. And he will face the consequences."
Meanwhile the Israeli government fiercely denounced the NATO intervention.
"This is an unprecedented intervention into the internal affairs of a sovereign nation," acting foreign minister Schlomo Ben Ami said on Israeli television. "Israel will not surrender to ultimatums and dictates from outside. No nation has the right to dictate to another about its domestic affairs." He also assailed Germany's role in the allied air campaign, calling it reminiscent of the Holocaust.
The crisis began last Thursday after Israeli hard-liner Ariel Sharon visited the Old City of Jerusalem in what was widely seen as a provocation against the Palestinians. Peaceful demonstrators were fired on by Israeli troops over the weekend, leading to massive casualties. Thousands have been injured and dozens of protestors have been killed over the past several days.
In a solemn address to the nation, US President Bill Clinton made a passionate defence of the air war.
"Mr. Barak's forces have brutally attacked civilians in the occupied territories. We have heard reports of indiscriminate killings, torture, and the destruction of Palestinian homes," he said. "We cannot stand back and allow the catastrophes of the twentieth century to repeat themselves as we enter the twenty-first. Mr. Barak has rejected our efforts to achieve a peaceful solution. Today, we stand ready to use force to bring peace to the region."
Reports have been emerging from Israel of mass incarcerations of military aged Palestinian males. It is feared that thousands of young men are missing, and their fate is still unknown.
NATO spokesman Jamie Shea highlighted Israel's brutal treatment of Palestinians at a briefing with reporters here on Monday.
"Men, women and children are being killed in cold blood. Tens of thousands of Palestinians are forced to live in refugee camps in utter squalor. The most basic human rights are being denied to them by the Israeli regime. Their land is under military occupation. Are there costs to taking action? Yes. Is the price worth it? I believe it is."
Sources within NATO have expressed the hope of the alliance that this will be a short war, but with Israel showing little sign of bowing to international pressure, the air war may be prolonged.
In Washington tonight, a senior U.S. official responded to concerns that Israeli forces may escalate attacks on Palestinians in response to the bombing. "That is something we are very concerned about. We just don't know what Barak's next move is. He could go either way on this"