Sun, January 04, 2009
STOCKHOLM, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere strongly condemned the Israeli military operations in Gaza and urged Israel to withdraw its troops from Gaza immediately,according to reports reaching here from Oslo Sunday.
"The Israeli operations on the ground in Gaza is a dramatic escalation of the conflict. Norway is strongly opposed to warfare which results in major civilian suffering, and ask that the troopsbe withdrawn immediately," Stoere said in a statement.
"The continuing bombing of the Gaza Strip and the full military ground operations are hitting a civilian population which cannot defend itself nor flee," he was quoted as saying by the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
He also appeals to Hamas to stop firing rockets at Israel.
"There is no military solution to the conflict. We must put pressure on the parties to agree to a new cease-fire. The SecurityCouncil and other states in the region must rally around a clear demand for a halt in the military operations and an arrangement for a lasting peace settlement," the Norwegian Foreign Minster said.
Israel sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip after a week of air strikes and its troops are reported to be engaged in heavy clashes with Hamas militants in northern Gaza. Both sides have reported casualties in the fighting.
