Hamas PM slams Israel for 'reshaping' Middle East

Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya, head of the Hamas-led government, has slammed Israel for trying to "completely reshape" the Middle East through its Gaza and Lebanon offensives.(AFP/Mahmud Hams)

July 19, 2006

GAZA CITY (AFP) -Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya, head of the Hamas-led government, has slammed Israel for trying to "completely reshape" the Middle East through its Gaza and Lebanon offensives.

"What Israel is doing is seeking to completely reshape the region according to the American and Israeli vision," Haniya said in a speech to parliament Wednesday.

"This situation reinforces our convictions that what Israel is doing in Gaza goes beyond the problem of the Israeli soldier and in Lebanon, beyond the problem of the prisoner soldiers," he added.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told a joint news conference with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana that the Jewish state intended to change the "political reality" of the region.

"Israel and the international community have a common good to promote a process that will bring about a long-term and fundamental change in the political reality of the region and will eliminate the threat of terrorism.

"Israel is fighting to eliminate the axis of terror and hate: Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran and Syria," she said.

Israel's offensive in Gaza, launched after Palestinian commandos snatched a soldier, has killed more than 90 Palestinians, and its assault in Lebanon, after Hezbollah captured another two soldiers, has left at least 300 people dead.