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Gulf states ask US to stop Israeli attacks on Lebonan

DUBAI: Gulf Arab states have accused Israel of trying to destroy the Middle East peace process and urged their close ally, the United States, to put pressure on the Jewish state to stop its attacks on Lebanon.

Both governments and media in the oil-rich Muslims region blasted the Israeli "aggression" on Lebanon in the last two days, following raids by Hizbollah guerrillas that have killed six Israeli soldiers, mostly in the last two weeks.

The attacks, which knocked out three power stations in Lebanon, sparked international anxiety over the future of the Syria-Israeli peace talks, already stalled since January after a brief resumption last December following a 45-month break.

"The repeated Israeli aggression on Lebanon is inflicting the biggest damage to the Middle East peace process.and is an Israeli attempt to foil the peace process," a Saudi Foreign Ministry source said.

The source, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency late on Tuesday, urged the United Nations Security Council to take measures to stop Israel from carrying out further aggression and also asked the sponors of peace, mainly the United States, to shoulder their responsibilities in ending such attacks.

Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah also condemned the attacks which he said "would destroy the peace process...and undermine efforts to achieve it.

He urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop the attacks.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said the bombings "exposed the peace process to great danger, sowing landmines in front of peace and stability in the region and implanting hatred and loathing among its people".

It urged the United States to "intervene immediately to put a stop to the wide-ranging Israeli attacks" and use its clout to convene a meeting of the five-nation monitoring group.

Yemen said the attacks would further destabilise the region and revealed "Israel's real aggressive intentions and led to more tension and instability in the region".

Newspapers in the region joined the condemnation and urged Arab states to move beyond words to practical steps that would lead to international pressure on Israel.

"The Arab world has the economic and political clout which, if properly employed, could press the pro-Israeli community to see reason and recognise and address the injustice that prevails in the Arab-Israeli equation today," said the UAE's The Gulf Today in an editorial.-Reuters