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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Intra-Palestinian violence rises, says UN official |
| 2008-08-23 |
| (AKI) - Israel and the Palestinians are continuing their negotiations aimed at devising a durable settlement to their long-running conflict, but intra-Palestinian violence has spiked over the past month, the top United Nations political official told the Security Council. The Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe voiced concern at a surge in deadly intra-Palestinian violence and political uncertainty sparked by tensions between members of the Islamist Hamas movement and Fatah in Gaza. The violence has contributed to the overall total of 43 Palestinians killed and 366 injured during the current reporting period. Hamas forces have seized control of the remaining Palestinian Authority institutions in Gaza and detained several governors, he said. "These actions severely prejudice the prospects for Palestinian reunification within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority. We are also concerned at the potential consequences for UN operations in Gaza." Pascoe made the remarks during his monthly briefing to the Council on the situation in the Middle East. He also said that that negotiations between the two sides as part of the so-called Annapolis peace process had been ongoing at both the political and technical levels. "It would appear that gaps between the parties' positions remain and I reiterate the Secretary-General's call for the need to press ahead to make real progress in overcoming differences to reach the goal of an agreement by the end of this year," he said. In addition, Pascoe said Palestinian security forces in the West Bank had arrested dozens of Hamas activists and closed a number of Hamas-linked institutions, and he called for the release of these detainees by both sides, saying it "could serve as a first step in a process leading to reconciliation." |
| Posted by:Fred |