Svoboda joins criticism of Israeli killing of Sheikh Yassin

Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has joined worldwide criticism of Israel's killing of Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Mr Svoboda said his killing would not break the cycle of violence in the Middle East. And as Rob Cameron reports, the Czech Foreign Minister believes his country can play an important role in bringing about a solution to the conflict.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, photo: CTK

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, an almost blind, wheelchair-bound cleric, was held responsible for dozens of suicide bombings and the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians. But his killing on Monday - by a missile launched from a helicopter gunship - has been condemned by governments around the world and has produced a storm of anger and outrage from Muslims. Hamas and other radical Palestinian groups have sworn revenge against Israel.

Cyril Svoboda told the Czech News Agency that attacks of this nature would not solve anything, condemning what he said was a never-ending cycle of revenge attacks in the Middle East. He said each new attack only led to a new round of reprisals. He also criticised the Palestinians, pointing to the discovery at the weekend of a Palestinian boy with explosives in his school bag.

But despite that criticism of the seemingly never-ending spiral of violence in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Svoboda believes his country can play a valuable role in finding a peaceful solution. Two months ago Mr Svoboda visited the Palestinian territories and Egypt, meeting both Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Arafat urged the Czech Foreign Minister to use his country's good relations with Israel to put pressure on the Israeli government to comply fully with the so-called roadmap to peace. Mr Svoboda told reporters afterwards that he sympathised with Israel's interest in protecting its security, but that both parties must adopt a compromise that was bold and liberal. A Foreign Ministry official recently said that the Czech Republic aimed to specialise in Middle Eastern affairs when it joins the European Union on May 1st.