French minister condemns Israeli violence

The BBC's Tim Sebastian met Hubert Vedrine

The French Foreign Minister, Hubert Vedrine has called for the Israeli Government to call off military action against Palestinians.

Mr Vedrine told Tim Sebastian for BBC HARDtalk that Israel's policy of using military force to curb attacks by Palestinian militants was merely "inflaming" the situation and creating "thousand of new candidates for suicide attacks every day".

Israeli tanks on patrol in Ramallah

"I understand the reaction of the Israeli people who live under the threat of terrorist attacks, but the role of politicians is not to inflame public opinion but to find solutions," he said.

"The Israeli Government's policy is not bringing a solution, neither for the security situation nor on the political level."

Intense violence

Mr Vedrine's comments come at a time when fighting has intensified between Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank towns of Bethlehem and Ramallah.

The Israeli army has also reoccupied the West Bank towns of Qalqilya and Tulkarm in an operation which it says is aimed at arresting Palestinian militants, following a series of deadly suicide bombings in Israel.

The Israeli army must withdraw from Ramallah.

Hubert Vedrine

However Mr Vedrine called for an end to this Israeli occupation, through the implementation of a ceasefire prepared by US special envoy to the Middle East, General Anthony Zinni.

"The Israeli army must withdraw from Ramallah," he said.

"They should withdraw from the zones that they have liberated, reoccupied, then liberated then reoccupied, they have to stop that. They have to implement the ceasefire prepared by General Zinni."

"Only solution"

Despite Mr Vedrine's support for General Zinni, he went on to suggest that the US needs to rethink its role towards the Middle East in the light of the current crisis in Israel.

General Zinni is on his third mission to Israel

"I would like the United States to be even more engaged, not only in trying to look for an impossible security prior to the negotiations, but also in the opening of political negotiations," he said.

"Everybody knows there's only one solution. At the end of the day there will be a Palestinian state and that's the only solution. A viable Palestinian state."

European involvement

Mr Vedrine also responded to criticism that Europe is not doing enough to help bring about peace in the region.

"You cannot say that the Europeans aren't doing anything because the Europeans, on the political level, have said very important things for the last few years," he said.

"We have outlined the objective that we need to reach, we have defined the solution, the way."

You can hear the HARDtalk interview in full at the following times:

BBC News 24 (times shown in GMT)
2 April 0430, repeated 2230

BBC World (times shown in GMT)
2 April 0430, repeated 1130, 1630, 1930, 0030