SECRETARY-GENERAL APPEALS FOR END TO ‘CYCLE OF VIOLENCE’ IN MID-EAST

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPEALS FOR END TO ‘CYCLE OF VIOLENCE’ IN MID-EAST

The following statement was issued today by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is dismayed by the escalating violence, which continues to spread death and misery among both Israelis and Palestinians.  He deplores acts of terror such as the one committed yesterday by a Palestinian gunman in Tel Aviv.  He is also deeply disturbed by the fact that Israel continues to use its armed forces for the deliberate killing of pre-selected Palestinian individuals.  Last Tuesday this tactic led to the killing of eight people, including two young boys.  Over the weekend further incidents of the same type killed one person and injured at least five others.

The Secretary-General recalls that he already condemned this practice, which violates human rights law as well as general principles of law, in his statement of 5 July.  Israel’s continued use of it can only further inflame an already very dangerous situation.  The Secretary-General appeals once again to the Government of Israel to put an end to it.  Indeed, he appeals to all sides to stop the cycle of destructive violence and to return to the path of dialogue, since there can be no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict other than a political one.  He urges both parties to focus their energies on the implementation of the recommendations contained in the Mitchell Report, which they have both embraced.

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