By IANS
Pretoria : South Africa has condemned the “massive military operation” undertaken by Israel against Palestine in Gaza and urged a halt to hostilities that started just two days after peace talks began, BuaNews agency reported Thursday.
Deputy Foreign Affairs minister Aziz Pahad Wednesday said the attack came at a time when the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was visiting the volatile region, and US President George W. Bush had just completed his visit pushing for a peaceful two-state solution.
“The massive military operation launched by Israel into (Hamas controlled) Gaza resulted in the death of 17 people and injuries to 50,” he said.
The deputy minister added that attacks by Palestinian militants firing rockets into southern Israel, and Israeli retaliatory operations must cease in the interests of a lasting peace in the Middle East.
“Genuine talks must happen (if Israel and Palestine are) to find a two-state solution,” said Pahad.
The envisioned two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict would see the creation of two separate states within the western half of Palestine, for Arabs and Jews.
The continuing Israel-Palestine conflict put the possibility of an end to hostilities in other Arab countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon out of reach, Pahad said.