Israeli PM Appeals US Not to Turn Back on Israel in Anti-Terrorism CoalitionIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has appealed to the United States not to turn its back on Israel and favor the Arab states in its current bid to forge an international anti-terrorism coalition, Israel Radio reported Friday.At a press conference held Thursday night in Tel Aviv, Sharon compared Israel's current situation to that of Czechoslovakia on the eve of the World War II, urging the Western states "not to repeat the horrible error of 1938." "The enlightened democracies of Europe decided then to sacrifice Czechoslovakia in favor of a convenient temporary solution," Sharon said. "Israel will not be Czechoslovakia," said the prime minister, adding that "do not try to appease the Arabs on our backs. We will be unable to accept that." In his first public criticism of the U.S. and its Mideast policy, Sharon said that "all of our efforts to reach a ceasefire were foiled by the Palestinians and the fire did not stop, not even for a single day." He also vowed to make uncompromising efforts to combat terrorism, saying that "Israel will fight terrorism." "We can only rely on ourselves," he added. The United States, generally biased towards Israel in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has recently urged Israel to avoid provocative actions and the Palestinians to do more to stem violence. Enditem |
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