DIPLOMATS USE OIC SUMMIT TO WARN PALESTINIANS AGAINST LOOMING CIVIL WAR
Compiled by Daily Star staff

Daily Star – Lebanon,
June 20 2006

Palestinian factions must take steps to fight a slide into civil war
which is being exploited by Israel, diplomats said at a pan-Islamic
conference in Azerbaijan on Monday. "Palestinian forces should not
allow a civil war to take place," the foreign minister of Malaysia,
Syed Hamid Albar, said at the opening of an Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting in Baku.

Foreign ministers of Islamic nations have gathered in Baku
for a meeting expected to be dominated by developments in the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict and in Iraq as well as the crisis over
Iran’s nuclear program.

Yemen’s foreign minister, Abu Bakr al-Kurbi, proposed that "all Middle
Eastern nations and neighboring countries … set up a joint center
for nuclear research in civilian purposes."

He added that the initiative could "improve security and confidence
in the region."

Kurbi said that the center could be jointly funded and operated by
nations of the region.

He did not say where the center should be located or give any further
details.

Last year, Russia proposed enriching uranium for Iran to assuage
international concerns about its nuclear program.

"We support UN calls for the Gulf to be free of nuclear weapons. At
the same time, Israel must also sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty," Kurbi said.

On the Palestinian issue, he said that Hamas’ election was being
exploited by Israel.

"The victory of Hamas is a trump card in the hands of Israel, which
does not want dialogue with the Palestinian government," he said.

He also called on international donors to resume the aid to the
Palestinians to break an international financial siege.

"Today there are threats to blockade the Palestinian people. We demand
donor countries aid Palestine," Kurbi said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also called for reforms to the UN
Security Council, which he described as having "no effective mechanism
for implementing decisions."

"If a decision is made it must be executed. If a country does not
execute a decision, sanctions should be used against it," Aliyev said,
in a veiled jab at Azerbaijan’s foe, Armenia, which Baku believes
has not complied with UN resolutions over disputed territory.