The United Nations’ special envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Al-Ibrahimi, claimed last week that there was a clear link between the escalation of the violence in Iraq and Israeli policies towards the Arabs of the Palestinian Authority.
"There is no doubt that what is poisoning the region is the Israeli policy of hegemony and the suffering Palestinians go through,” Al-Ibrahimi told a French radio station. Al-Ibrahimi stated in the interview that he attributes regional violence to “ the injustice most nations inside and outside the region attribute to Israel and to the backing it gets from the United States, which is not less tyrannical than Israel."
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan distanced himself from Al-Ibrahimi’s comments, saying they did not represent the opinions of the U.N.
The official Palestinian Authority news agency reports that Al-Ibrahimi responded to Annan, saying that "the policy of Israel is a poison in the region and that is how everybody feels inside and outside the Middle East. I believe this is a fact not a personal opinion.”
"There is no doubt that what is poisoning the region is the Israeli policy of hegemony and the suffering Palestinians go through,” Al-Ibrahimi told a French radio station. Al-Ibrahimi stated in the interview that he attributes regional violence to “ the injustice most nations inside and outside the region attribute to Israel and to the backing it gets from the United States, which is not less tyrannical than Israel."
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan distanced himself from Al-Ibrahimi’s comments, saying they did not represent the opinions of the U.N.
The official Palestinian Authority news agency reports that Al-Ibrahimi responded to Annan, saying that "the policy of Israel is a poison in the region and that is how everybody feels inside and outside the Middle East. I believe this is a fact not a personal opinion.”