US President George W. Bush said Saturday that Hizbullah
is to blame for violence in the Middle East.
| Israeli Response |
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| Lebanon: 70 killed in IDF attacks / News agencies |
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Sources say mostly civilians killed thus far since beginning of Israel’s offensive in the county last Wednesday; planes drop leaflets with caricature of Nasrallah, who is depicted as Cobra snake about to swallow Beirut |
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"In my judgment, the best way to stop the violence is to understand why the violence occurred in the first place," Bush said at a news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"And that's because Hizbullah has been launching rocket attacks out of Lebanon into Israel and because Hizbullah captured two Israeli soldiers."
Showing a divide that could dominate weekend meetings at the Group of Eight summit of world industrial leaders, Putin was more critical of Israel's massive bombing campaign in response to the capture of two soldiers. "Use of force should be balanced," he said.
At the same time, Putin said it was unacceptable that Hizbullah was trying to reach its goals with abductions and strikes against an independent state.
"In this context we consider Israel's concerns to be justified," he said.
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