The coming 24 hours will be a crucial period for testing the commitment of Israelis and Palestinians to the Sharm El-Sheikh truce, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said. “Between now and tomorrow evening will be a crucial period,” he told reporters as he returned to UN headquarters on Thursday after 11 days in the Middle East during which he attended the Sharm El-Sheikh summit. Annan reiterated the call, which he made before leaving Sharm El-Sheikh, for leaders and people in the region to be restrained in the language they used. Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Commission on Thursday night voted to condemn Israel for widespread, systematic and gross violations of human rights and set up an international inquiry into violence in the West Bank and Gaza.
A special session of the 53-nation top UN human rights body voted 19-16 to approve a draft resolution put forward by Arab nations. There were 17 abstentions and one country was absent. Bureau Report