LOC20:11
17:11 GMT
PARIS, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- The French government denied on Friday
controversial comments attributed to Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie
during a visit Thursday to Jerusalem.
The French Minister was quoted by Israeli Radio as saying the Palestinian
kidnapping of Franco-Israeli Tsahal soldier Gilad Shalit was "a crime against
humanity"; a comment that sparked protests by Palestinians when Alliot-Marie
arrived later in Gaza.
Once entering the Palestinian territory, hundreds of Palestinian
demonstrators blocked and jostled her car and threw shoes and other objects at
the vhicle.
The French minister was also greeted by protests at the Al-Quds Hospital,
which France is refurbishing.
The bulk of the demonstrators were family members of the 10,000
Palestinian, men, women and children being held in Israeli jails, often
without trial or judgment.
When in Jerusalem, Alliot-Marie had met with the family of Shalit, who was
captured by Palestinian militants in a clash near the Gaza border in 2006.
Shalit was serving in the Israeli army at the time, although he also holds
French citizenship.
While the French minister said she would work hard to get Shalit's release
and try to mobilize the EU for his cause, officials here deny she labelled his
kidnapping "a crime against humanity."
It was "an inexact attribution" by Israeli radio, Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Bernard Valero said. He pointed out that the Israeli media has
sought to correct the error and local media have also been sensitized to the
mistaken quote and asked to correct the story.
It is the second time in 10 days that Alliot-Marie has had to scramble to
deal with a media affair, whereby she was attributed with controversial
statements.
In the midst of the Tunisian crisis over a week ago, the French top
diplomat was quoted as saying she wanted to send security equipment to the
Tunisian police to help with crowd control as protests spread in Tunisia.
Alliot-Marie denied it and said she wanted to help the Tunisian security
forces with crowd control because they were using live ammunition and she felt
French assistance and expertise could save lives. (end)
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