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Japanese PM Urges Israel to Withdraw Troops From Palestine Areas
Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka on Thursday urged Israel to withdraw its troops from the West Bank and Gaza Strip to avoid escalating conflict with the Palestinians, Kyodo News reported.
Tanaka made the call during a telephone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, the report quoted Foreign Ministry officials as saying.
Tanaka expressed concern over the rising tension in the Middle East situation, which had recently shown signs of improvement, and asked that the military be removed at an early time.
Peres said Israel is doing everything it can to bring the crisis to an end, adding he believes Tanaka is correct in urging the early withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestine Authority's areas, the officials said.
Peres told Tanaka that the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States changed the composition of the north-south and east-west conflicts of the world.
The Japanese foreign minister expressed the hope that Israel will do its utmost to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians from a humanitarian standpoint.
Tanaka later spoke briefly with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on the phone and conveyed to him the contents of her conversation with Peres, the officials said.
Arafat said he hopes the Israeli troops will withdraw as soon as possible as many Palestinians have become victims of the conflict between the two sides since it flared up in September last year.
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