A Mauritanian opposition party Wednesday urged the Nouakchott government to break off relations with Israel and demanded the immediate release of people arrested during pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The Rally of Democratic Patriots (RPD), which was founded in neighboring Senegal, "energetically condemns" what it described as Israel's "barbaric acts" towards Palestinians and "appeals to the international community, above all the United Nations, to start reprisals against Israel."
The opposition party did not specify what kind of reprisals should be envisaged.
In a statement issued here, the RPD also demanded "the immediate release of political prisoners arrested" this week in Mauritania.
Police have since Tuesday rounded up about a dozen suspected members of the clandestine Islamic organization Hassem accused of organizing violent anti-Israeli demonstrations in Nouakchott last Friday.
The Mauritanian police warned that further arrests could be carried out.
Among people arrested were two officials of Ahmed Ould Daddah's main opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces (UFD), which had called for a big anti-Israeli protest march in the Mauritanian capital on Wednesday.
Observers in Nouakchott said the arrests could heighten tensions between the regime of Maaouya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya and the UFD, a founder member of an opposition coalition front, while the authorities could ban further street protests.
Several police officers and demonstrators were hurt in clashes last Friday, but protests, including a sit-in outside the foreign ministry, have continued on an almost daily basis.
Mauritania, a member of the Arab League, established full diplomatic ties with Israel last year.
Security forces have kept demonstrators away from the Israeli embassy, which has been a primary target since an outbreak of bloodshed between Israelis and Palestinians began two weeks ago, threatening the Middle East process.
Spiraling violence has raged in the Palestinian territories and claimed 100 lives in the past two weeks, sparking protests in several Arab and Islamic nations against what demonstrators describe as Israeli repression - DAKAR (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
