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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