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Annan calls for peacekeeping force in Mideast
Jerusalem, June 13: UN secretary general Kofi Annan called for the dispatch of an international peacekeeping force to stem the spiralling violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an interview published here today.
Jerusalem, June 13: UN secretary general Kofi Annan called for the dispatch of an international peacekeeping force to stem the spiralling violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an interview published here today.
Annan told an Israeli newspaper that the intervention of US monitors to shepherd through President George W. Bush's "road map" for peace probably would not be enough to bring an immediate halt to the bloodshed.
"The monitoring mechanism that will be put in place next week is a beginning and it may be enough if the parties are able to break the cycle of violence," the UN chief said. "In the interim I would like to see an armed peacekeeping force act as a buffer between the Israelis and Palestinians," he told the newspaper in New York.
He made his remarks as senior US diplomat John Wolf was expected in the Middle East to begin overseeing implementation of the roadmap launched at a June 4 summit convened by Bush in Aqaba, Jordan. Prospects for peace have since been set back by an explosion of violence that has left more than 60 people dead, with Israel and the radical Palestinian group Hamas declaring all-out war on each other.
Annan said the international community had to back efforts by the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmud Abbas, to try to end suicide bombings, such as the attack on a Jerusalem bus Wednesday that killed 17 Israelis. The UN secretary general also disputed the decision by the US and Israel to try to sideline Palestine leader Yasser Arafat from the peace process, saying he has "not been entirely negative."
Bureau Report
"The monitoring mechanism that will be put in place next week is a beginning and it may be enough if the parties are able to break the cycle of violence," the UN chief said. "In the interim I would like to see an armed peacekeeping force act as a buffer between the Israelis and Palestinians," he told the newspaper in New York.
He made his remarks as senior US diplomat John Wolf was expected in the Middle East to begin overseeing implementation of the roadmap launched at a June 4 summit convened by Bush in Aqaba, Jordan. Prospects for peace have since been set back by an explosion of violence that has left more than 60 people dead, with Israel and the radical Palestinian group Hamas declaring all-out war on each other.
Annan said the international community had to back efforts by the new Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmud Abbas, to try to end suicide bombings, such as the attack on a Jerusalem bus Wednesday that killed 17 Israelis. The UN secretary general also disputed the decision by the US and Israel to try to sideline Palestine leader Yasser Arafat from the peace process, saying he has "not been entirely negative."
Bureau Report