Chirac condemns Israel' s disproportionate actions
French president says Hamas, Hizbullah rocket attacks are 'unacceptable'
President Jacques Chirac said Friday that Israel's military offensive against Lebanon is "totally
disproportionate" and asked whether destroying Lebanon was not the ultimate goal.
However, he also said that rockets fired on Israel by Hezbollah and Hamas are "inadmissible, unacceptable and irresponsible."
Chirac implicitly suggested that Syria and Iran might be playing a role in the expanding crisis in the Middle East which, along with the Iranian nuclear issue, creates "a truly dangerous situation in which we must be very, very careful."
"All acts count, all words count," said the French president, comparing the situation to that which prevailed before the U.S.-led intervention in Iraq in 2003.
Experience and finesse are needed to find a way out of the crisis, he added.
Chirac blamed both sides for the current situation - but did not spare Israel. "One could ask if today there is not a sort of will to destroy Lebanon, its equipment, its roads, its communication," Chirac said during an interview in the garden of the presidential Elysee Palace to mark Bastille Day, the French national holiday.
The French president said he believes that another country was likely behind the actions of Hamas
and Hezbollah.
"I have the feeling, if not the conviction, that Hamas and Hezbollah wouldn't have taken the initiatives alone," Chirac said. "There is, without any doubt, an action which must be discussed with Syria," the French president said.
Without naming Iran, which backs Hezbollah, he suggested that Tehran may also have a role.
He said that Tehran "would be well inspired" to take up the offer by Western nations - "which will not be
indefinitely available" - regarding its nuclear program.
He was referring to a package of incentives to ensure that Tehran does not develop nuclear weapons. Tehran has stalled in responding.
The Israel-Palestinian crisis and Lebanon and the Iranian nuclear standoff create "a situation of great fragility and potential instability," Chirac said.
Israeli warplanes attacked Lebanon for a third day Friday, targeting roadlinks and the Hezbollah headquarters. The group has captured two Israeli soldiers.
