SECRETARY-GENERAL DISTURBED BY UPSURGE IN MIDDLE EAST VIOLENCE; CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS, EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS

SECRETARY-GENERAL DISTURBED BY UPSURGE IN MIDDLE EAST VIOLENCE;

CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS, EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS

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

The Secretary-General is disturbed by the recent upsurge of violence in the Middle East, including yesterday’s suicide bomb attack on a bus in the city of Hadera in northern Israel, which killed three Israelis and the earlier killings of a Palestinian leader and five Palestinian boys in Gaza.  He reiterates in the strongest possible terms his condemnation of indiscriminate attacks on civilians and extrajudicial killings, which make progress towards a ceasefire more difficult to achieve.

The Secretary-General once again urges all parties to make every effort to stop the escalating violence.  The growing loss of life on both sides highlights the urgency of the ongoing efforts to secure a durable ceasefire and to start a meaningful dialogue aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict.

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