An official Syrian daily criticised Wednesday the European Union's call for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to dismantle "terrorist" networks.
"All the besieged Palestinians needed was the EU statement, which adds to the pressure already exerted on them," the Ath-Thawra daily said in an editorial signed by state television and radio director Fayez al-Sayegh.
In his article, Sayegh asks whether the statement "marks a turnaround" in EU policy, making it an "executant of the others' will", in a thinly veiled allusion to the United States, perceived by Syria as aligned with Israel.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers urged Israel to stop extra-judicial killings and freeze settlement activities, while asking the Palestinian Authority to dismantle and bring to justice "terrorist networks" of the radical Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Israel said Tuesday it was "satisfied" with the EU statement -- AFP
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
