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Jospin images burn as Arabs rage

BEIRUT: Lebanese and Palestinian protesters burned tricolore flags and images of Lionel Jospin on Sunday as the French prime minister's "terrorist" tag for Lebanon's anti-Israeli guerrillas roused fury across the Arab world.

Thousands took to the streets in Lebanon and in the West Bank, while a senior Hizbollah official in Beirut demanded an apology for the remarks and punishment for Jospin.

Charges that Jospin, who may run in France's 2002 presidential election, was pandering to a domestic Jewish electorate dominated the official Syrian press.

France's Jewish community swiftly rallied around the beleaguered Socialist prime minister.

But a storm of criticism and a ticking off from conservative President Jacques Chirac were waiting for him when he returned from his Middle East trip, which was cut short on Saturday after he was pelted with stones in the West Bank.

Chirac, as head of state, traditionally takes the lead in France's generally pro-Arab foreign policy.

CHIRAC URGED TO PUNISH JOSPIN

The outcry was triggered by Jospin's description on Thursday of Hizbollah guerrilla attacks on Israeli soldiers in the south Lebanon occupation zone as "terrorist acts."

For some it was a slip of the tongue revealing a pro-Israeli agenda. For others, it was a miscalculated remark aimed at scoring domestic points from Chirac.

"Jospin, take off the mask and show that you're a Jew-man," 3,000 university students in the Palestinian self-rule city of Hebron chanted as they burned the French flag.

In the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon, Labour Minister Michel Moussa led 5,000 demonstrators many of whom denounced Jospin as an "American agent" while brandishing caricatures of the French prime minister, his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Sheikh Naim Kassem, deputy leader of Hizbollah, urged Chirac to reverse Jospin's remarks.

Sections of the Tunisian press meanwhile asked whether Jospin's remark was in fact an unfortunate blunder.-Reuters