Minister Cowen condemns suicide bombing ‘outrage' in Israel

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, today described as an outrage the suicide bombing at Rishon Letzion in Israel which has left at least fifteen people dead and many injured. He conveyed his profound sympathy to the injured and his deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the attack.

" Atrocities such as this do nothing to advance any legitimate political agenda and must be unreservedly condemned. It is imperative that all those who believe conflict can be resolved only through peaceful means do everything in their power to prevent further incidents of this nature." said the Minister.

The Minister also stated his hope that this incident would not be allowed to upset moves towards a resumption of negotiations to settle the conflict.

" Israelis and Palestinians have been through bitter experiences in the past weeks. Developments such as the resolution of the siege at the Church of the Nativity and the lifting of restrictions on President Arafat's movements have given hope that the peace process might return to life. I would call on both parties not to allow themselves to be deflected from the course which they know must be followed. Ireland's own experience of conflict resolution has shown clearly that progress can be achieved only when those parties committed to peace refuse to allow the peace process to be made hostage to the latest atrocity carried out by men of violence."Top