Security Council Denies Arab Request

7am.com News, 17 May 2001, 12:01 pm PST

The UN Security Council is refusing to meet a request from Arab nations for an emergency meeting on violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

The rejection came after informal talks at UN headquarters in New York. The head of the Palestine observer mission, as president of the UN's Arab grouping, had asked the council to discuss what he called the escalation of repressive practices against the Palestinian population by Israel.

After closed consultations, council president James Cunningham of the United States told reporters there would not be an immediate meeting. He said there was widespread agreement in the council that the matter requires more time for consultation and reflection.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army has seized buildings in a Palestinian-ruled area of the Gaza Strip.

Troops took over Palestinian houses after claiming they had been used by gunmen earlier in the day to fire at Israelis. The army said the occupation was temporary.

Israeli forces have made repeated incursions into Palestinian autonomous areas recently to destroy security posts, demolish houses, uproot orchards and flatten crop land, in retaliation for Palestinian attacks on troops and Jewish settlements.

Secretary-General states that full implementation of Mitchell Report recommendations could help restart Middle East peace negotiations

SG/SM/7806, 15 May 2001

Following is the text of a statement issued yesterday, by the Office of the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on the report of the Sharm el-Sheik Fact-Finding Committee:

Having received the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee report, the Secretary-General wishes to congratulate Senator Mitchell and the Committee members for having produced a fair and balanced analysis of the causes of the present crisis.

The Secretary-General has written to President Bush to express his appreciation for the Committee's emphasis on the need for a halt to all settlement activity; to support the call for maximum effort to control violence in all its forms; and to stress the economic and social crisis facing the Palestinian people.

The Secretary-General believes that full implementation of the report's recommendations could, in conjunction with the Jordanian-Egyptian initiative, help build a bridge back to negotiations towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East on the basis of United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338.