Is the Middle East going to war?

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Wednesday urged Hamas militants to release unharmed captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit from the Gaza Strip border on Sunday in order to defuse Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

Annan said he discussed by telephone with Prime Minister Ehud Omert the military raid he ordered into Gaza, saying that unilateral action would not resolve the situation.

"It is important that the two leaders (Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas) work together to calm the situation," Annan told reporters.

He said Olmert promised "maximum restraint" in the use of force while Israeli troops and tanks have entered Gaza.

Annan said he also talked to Abbas, who said he was discussing with Palestinian factions ways to bring the violence under control.

"I hope they will allow time for a diplomatic solution," Annan said. "I hope no action will be taken to harm him (the Israeli soldier) and that he would be returned alive."

U.S. blames Hamas for escalation
The Bush administration on Wednesday blamed the Hamas movement for the recent escalation sparked by the kidnapping of Shalit.

At the White House, press secretary Tony Snow said "the hostage-taking and the attacks by Hamas last weekend have precipitated the current events in Gaza," Snow said. "Israel has the right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens. ... Let's just point out, once again, you have the Israeli forces trying to reclaim somebody who was kidnapped and is being held hostage in Gaza. And they are doing what they can to return him."

Snow would not comment on any of the specific actions taken by Israel.

The U.S. Administration affirmed on Wednesday Israel's right to defend itself against acts of terror and called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt to help resolve a crisis provoked by the abduction of Shalit.

The White House and State Department declined to take a position on Israel's pressure offensive in southern Gaza that has knocked out electricity and water supplies for some 700 thousand Palestinians living in Gaza.

"It's generally not our practice to go into the details of diplomatic conversations," said deputy State Department spokesman Adam Ereli.

At the same time, the spokesman stressed that "Israel has a right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens," while urging Israel "to ensure that innocent lives are not harmed."

Ereli urged Palestinian militants to release the soldier and Israel to "avoid the unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure" as it tries to get him back.

Spokesmen said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. diplomats "continue to do everything we can... to bring this crisis to a peaceful resolution."

Abbas and the Egyptians "have contacts and have capabilities that can be useful in resolving this crisis," said Ereli.

Rice, who is traveling in South Asia, telephoned Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for a second time this week, Ereli said. He declined to say whether Israel was informing Rice and other U.S. officials about its military operations and whether the Bush administration was trying to influence Israel's strategy.

EU urges Israel, PA to resolve soldier crisis diplomatically
The European Union urged both Israel and the Palestinians on Wedndesday, to "step back from the brink" and allow diplomacy to resolve the crisis caused by the abduction of Gilad Shalit.

"All sides need to consider their responsibilities extremely carefully," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement on Wednesday, after IDF troops moved into the Gaza Strip, shelling targets and bombing power stations and a bridge.

"Both sides need to step back from the brink before this becomes a crisis that neither side can control," Ferrero-Waldner warned.

The IDF operation was aimed at pressuring militants to release IDF soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit, captured during a cross-border raid on Sunday. The militants have demanded that all Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails be set free.

Wednesday's EU statement demanded that the Palestinian militants immediately release Shalit, saying that keeping him would only make things worse for the Palestinian people.

"It is unacceptable to seek political goals by such means," Ferrero-Waldner said.

She reiterated a call for those holding Shalit to free him, and urged Israel to "act with prudence," in order to allow for the success of diplomatic efforts to secure his release.

Ferrero-Waldner expressed concern about the IDF shelling that had
disrupted electricity supplies in much of Gaza, saying vital services such as hospitals also had been affected.

"Everything must be done to prevent the humanitarian situation from worsening," she said.

Austria, the current president of the EU, also called for the IDF soldier's "immediate and unconditional release."

Austria urged "the Palestinian leadership to undertake all necessary efforts in this regard" and called on all parties to show restraint and to "avoid further escalation."

In his weekly House of Commons question session, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday that the IDF offensive in Gaza demonstrated the importance of restarting the peace process, "which is the only way to stop events like the terrible events of the last 24 hours."

"In the end, what is necessary obviously is to make sure that peace and calm is restored so that there's some possibility of getting negotiation going," he said.

Blair said he still wanted to return to the long-stalled road map peace plan drafted by the Quartet, which is made up of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia.

In Paris, France's Foreign Minister denounced the use of force by both sides saying the crisis could only be solved through a political dialogue.

Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said he still believed it was possible to restart the stalled peace process, and pointed to the announcement Tuesday of a Palestinian plan that implicitly recognizes Israel. He described the plan, hammered out by rival Hamas and Fatah movements, as a "significant step forward."

In Tokyo, the government said it was reevaluating a trip by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Middle East next month, following reports of the Israeli incursion into Gaza.

The Japanese leader was expected to visit Israel and the Palestinian
territories before attending the G8 summit of industrialized nations in
mid-July in Russia. But the recent spike in violence may alter those plans, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said.

"At this stage, we have not decided on what to do," Abe said. "In any case, various things occur in this region, so we need to constantly keep a close watch."