CRAWFORD, Texas (AFP) — Rebuffing Arab appeals, the United States on Monday gave its blessing to Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip but said it was working behind the scenes to forge a "durable ceasefire."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was reaching out by telephone to key world leaders and diplomats to find a lasting way to end the violence, which has left at least 345 people dead in Gaza, officials said.
President George W. Bush stayed out of sight on his Texas ranch but discussed the crisis with Jordan's King Abdullah II one day after speaking by telephone with Saudi King Abdullah, the White House said.
"The president's message to King Abdullah, his overall message, is that we want to see the violence stop, but in a way that leads to a durable and sustainable cessation of violence. We can't have the violence stop now only for it to start up again in the near future," said spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
While both kings reportedly pressed Bush to help stop "Israeli aggression" in Gaza, widely denounced in the Arab world, Johndroe blamed recent Hamas rocket fire for triggering the bloodshed and defended the Israeli retaliation.
"The United States understands that Israel needs to take actions to defend itself," he told reporters in Texas. "They are taking the steps that they feel are necessary to deal with the terrorist threat.
"In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable ceasefire," said Johndroe. "That is what the United States is working towards."
To that end, Rice spoke to UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, EU special envoy Javier Solana as well as her French, British, Canadian, Egyptian, Russian, Saudi, Turkish and Israeli counterparts, said US State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid.
She had "not yet" spoken with West Bank based Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas, whose forces in the Gaza Strip were ousted by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in June 2007, said Duguid.
Johndroe said he was unaware of any attempt by Abbas to reach out to Bush, who has yet to speak publicly on the conflict that erupted after Hamas refused to renew a shaky Egypt-brokered truce when it expired December 19, and fired rockets and mortars at Israeli targets.
"Hamas has once again shown its true colors as a terrorist organization that refuses to even recognize Israel's right to exist," said Johndroe, who declined to comment directly on Israeli ground forces massing in a possible prelude to an incursion into Gaza.
But he said Israel had made public statements and given private assurances to the United States that "they don't want to retake Gaza, that they simply want to protect their people."
"I can't speak to any potential ground operation," he said. "We'll just have to see how this unfolds. Obviously, as I've said we want civilian casualties to be avoided."
US president-elect Barack Obama was receiving regular intelligence briefings and has spoken to Rice about the situation, said Johndroe.
The spokesman reiterated US worries about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and asked "all parties involved to allow food and medical supplies to reach the people there."
Peppered with questions about whether the United States would eventually ask for restraint from its staunch Middle East ally, Johndroe repeated his defense of the Israeli actions as steps to defend their people.
Jordan's king urged Bush to help "stop the Israeli aggression on Gaza and end the suffering of the Palestinians," a palace statement said, echoing the message from the Saudi monarch as reported by Saudi state news agency SPA.
"We're obviously very familiar with the Arab position, but I think ultimately they want to see a peaceful end to this that leads to a Palestinian state," said Johndroe.
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