The IDF operations drew almost no reaction from the international community - until late Sunday afternoon. The Italian Prime Minister phoned Prime Minister Sharon last night and asked him to \"show restraint,\" promising to transmit the same message to Arafat, while from the U.S. criticism was heard only from an unnamed administration source to Reuters.
This afternoon, the European Union announced its position that Israel should relinquish the areas it took over.
The Danish Foreign Minister compared last week\'s assassination of Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi by Palestinian terrorists to Israel\'s killing of leading PA terrorists. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials expressed \"shock\" at the remarks, but commentator Steven Plaut put the matter in clear perspective: \"The Dane official position is that when Israel assassinates a Palestinian terrorist who has perpetrated mass murders of children, this is exactly the moral equivalence of Palestinian fascist terrorists murdering the elected cabinet minister in a democratic country.\"
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told an American official a few days ago that he \"does not believe Arafat and his declarations about fighting terrorism.\" He further told a Newsweek interviewer, \"Arafat can\'t make decisions by himself, because then his people will leave him. Arafat has some terrible people around him, like Marwan Bargouti, the head of the Tanzim.\"
This afternoon, the European Union announced its position that Israel should relinquish the areas it took over.
The Danish Foreign Minister compared last week\'s assassination of Minister Rehavam Ze\'evi by Palestinian terrorists to Israel\'s killing of leading PA terrorists. Israeli Foreign Ministry officials expressed \"shock\" at the remarks, but commentator Steven Plaut put the matter in clear perspective: \"The Dane official position is that when Israel assassinates a Palestinian terrorist who has perpetrated mass murders of children, this is exactly the moral equivalence of Palestinian fascist terrorists murdering the elected cabinet minister in a democratic country.\"
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told an American official a few days ago that he \"does not believe Arafat and his declarations about fighting terrorism.\" He further told a Newsweek interviewer, \"Arafat can\'t make decisions by himself, because then his people will leave him. Arafat has some terrible people around him, like Marwan Bargouti, the head of the Tanzim.\"