Government News Index
Palestinians have the right to a homeland: PM
By LINCOLN WRIGHT
Prime Minister John Howard described the suicide bomb attacks against Israel as the "ultimate terror" but at the same time called yesterday for a Palestinian homeland to end the conflict.
"It is terrible the deterioration in the violence and it is hard to understand how any nation or any collection of nations can come to terms with people as young as 16, 17 and 18 who will destroy their own lives in the process of destroying the lives of others," Mr Howard said.
It was almost impossible to take precautions against the type of terror attacks which had occurred in the past week. Israel needed to have its borders respected and more understanding for what it had to put up with in the way of random suicide attacks. "I mean, this is the ultimate terror," he said.
Mr Howard then criticised the leadership of the Palestinians for rejecting what he said amounted to a peace offer in 2000 from Israel's then Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
"I remember well visiting Israel and going down to Ramallah in May of 2000 and people were full of hope that we were going to achieve something."
Mr Barak had offered 80-90 per cent of what the Palestinians wanted, and now it was difficult to see any Israeli leader making that offer again.
But Mr Howard went on to add that everyone in the Middle East had to have their place in the sun.
Referring to the Palestinians, Mr Howard said, "They've got a right to have a homeland".
The Canberra Times