AFP
US urges Israel to use 'proportional force' in Gaza, avoid civilian deaths
Date: Friday October 1
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States called on Israel to use only "proportional force" in its ongoing military operations in Gaza and urged the Jewish state to avoid civilian Palestinian casualties which it said complicated Middle East peace efforts.
As the White House did earlier, the State Department declined to condemn the massive raids and stressed that Israel had a right to defend itself but "noted with regret reports of civilian casualties" sustained in the operation.
"We urge the government of Israel to take every measure to ensure that only proportional force is used to counter the threat that it faces," deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters. "We urge Israel to avoid civilian casualties and minimize humanitarian consequences.
"These kinds of casualties can only make all of our efforts to achieve a durable peace more difficult," Ereli said.
At least 45 Palestinians have been killed over the past three days along with two Israeli soldiers and a Jewish woman settler in one of the bloodiest battles since the Palestinian uprising started four years ago.
On Friday alone, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the army to step up a massive raid in Gaza to stop militant rocket attacks on Israel, seven Palestinians were killed.
The large-scale offensive has sparked international concern with Russia calling on Israel to refrain from using "indiscriminate" force while urging the Palestinians not to resort to "terrorist acts against Israel."
France said it was "deeply concerned" by the flare-up and that "recourse to violence is not a solution" for either sides.
Shortly before Ereli spoke for the State Department, White House spokesman Scott McClellan cautioned Israel to "keep in mind the impact" of its Gaza operations on the peace process.
"We've always said Israel has the right to defend itself, but it's also important to keep in mind the impact of those decisions," he told reporters.
McClellan also called for a return to the internationally drawn "roadmap" to peace in the region and praised Sharon's call for dismantling all Israeli settlements in Gaza and some in the West Bank.
The latest deaths brought the overall toll since the start of the Palestinian uprising to 4,400, including 3,376 Palestinians and 953 Israelis, according to an AFP count.
SOURCE
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