(U.N. humanitarian chief) Egeland: Mideast Anger Worst in 20 Years

[Judi Lynn]

Egeland: Mideast Anger Worst in 20 Years
By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS , 08.11.2006, 12:36 PM

U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland said Friday the anger on all sides in the Middle East is the greatest he has seen in two decades of trying to help the troubled region make peace.

"I've never seen nations as polarized as during this recent visit," said Egeland, who was in Lebanon, Israel and the Gaza Strip at the end of July.

"People were enraged collectively in Lebanon, everybody against the Israeli indiscriminate onslaught," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "In Israel, they were a united front to support the strong military measures. In the Palestinian areas, I've never seen them as full of hatred collectively as now. It has to be defused."

Egeland, the U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said he was counting on the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution that will stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and serve as a first step to finally concluding a peace settlement in the Middle East.

"Everybody wants now to find a permanent political solution," he said in his office in the world body's European headquarters. "This has now become a powder keg. You have really to defuse it. You cannot just delay further conflict."
(snip/...)

http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/entrefinance/feeds/ap/2006/08/11/ap2943955.html

[maddezmom]

1. duplicate

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2450725