Palestine Urges UN to Help End Tragedy in Middle EastThe United Nations Security Council has been urged to take necessary steps to help stop the tragedy of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as soon as possible.Nasser Al-Kidwa, Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, told an open debate held by the Security Council on Middle East that it is the responsibility of the international community, particularly the Security Council, to help stop the dangerous deterioration of the crisis and imbue life to the peace process. This, he said, should be the prelude to a return to the situation before September 28 last year when the crisis erupted. Al-Kidwa also said that stopping the tragedy and imbuing life into the peace process should be done through practical measures, including a UN force. Violence erupted between Israelis and Palestinians after Ariel Sharon, then Israeli opposition leader, paid a visit to a Jerusalem holy shrine on September 28. So far, at least 426 people have been killed, mostly Palestinians. The Palestinians have been pushing for the adoption of a resolution in the Security Council on a U.N. observer force to protect them. But Israel opposes it, arguing instead for continued direct negotiations between the two sides to end the fighting. During the open debate, Al-Kidwa called on the Israeli government to "stop immediately the bloodletting campaign against our people." Al-Kidwa reiterated the readiness of the Palestinian side to resume negotiations on a final settlement, saying that "we call on the Israeli side to negotiate on a final solution, taking into consideration the progress made in the negotiations so far." He expressed a "strong" hope that the Security Council will " take us all to a better situation that will achieve permanent and comprehensive peace in the Middle East as a whole. The open debate, which followed requests by the Palestinian observer mission and the League of Arab States, is not expected to include any vote on proposals for a U.N. force. The Palestinians failed last December to muster the necessary nine votes for a U.N. force in the 15-member Security Council. |
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