Israelis and Palestinians must move beyond conflict and violence and grasp peace plan by Kieran Prendergast 2:41pm 22nd May, 2004   21 May 2004    Delivering what he called a "melancholy briefing, full of death and destruction and human misery" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the top United Nations political officer today called on both sides to move beyond the deadlock that keeps them stalled at the crossroads and embrace the internationally endorsed Road Map peace plan.    "Surely, the people of Israel and Palestine deserve better news, rays of hope," Kieran Prendergast, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the Security Council in the latest monthly update on the conflict that saw the "now all too familiar phenomenon of growing violence" in which 128 Palestinians and 19 Israelis were killed in the past four weeks.    Noting that Israeli incursions into the Gaza strip had resulted in many deaths and injuries, and the destruction of hundreds of Palestinian homes, Mr. Prendergast said Israel "must abide by its obligations as the occupying power, which included protecting the civilian population and eschewing the disproportionate or indiscriminate use of force."    At the same time, he reiterated calls for the Palestinian leadership to reorganize and act decisively against terror and violence, adding: "It is essential in our view that the Palestinian Authority grasp the nettle of reform without further delay."    In sharp contrast to the tragic situation on the ground is the hope held out by the Road Map plan sponsored by the so-called diplomatic Quartet - the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States - that calls for a series of parallel and reciprocal steps leading to two states living side-by-side in peace by 2005.    "It is not new, but it is viable, once the leadership on both sides have the vision and courage to start following it in good faith and with determination, and to continue along it to the very end," Mr. Prendergast.    But he warned that action by the international community or the Quartet was no substitute for steps by the parties. "Experience from other conflicts is that solutions are adopted and implemented only when the parties themselves decide to do so," he added.    He noted that the Palestinian economy continued to languish with unemployment rising by 2 per cent, to 26.3 per cent, and said the proposed Israeli withdrawal from Gaza should be carried out in a way that makes it an end to the occupation and a new beginning for the peace process.    "If Israel pulled out from the strip while retaining control over the crossing and sealing off Gaza, while at the same time a weakened Palestinian Authority failed to maintain law and order, and the international community refrained from footing the bill for the consequences of such a scenario, nothing less than a humanitarian disaster would hit Gaza, which could then become a hub for terror and chaos," he added. "No doubt, that was a worst-case scenario - but that was one that should be kept in mind while urging the parties to follow the right path."
	Next (more recent) news item
	Next (older) news item