Annan Slams Israeli Stance on Palestine

United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan on Thursday rebutted the Israeli justification for its actions in the Palestinian territories. He said such actions, since the adoption of (UN) Security Council resolution 1402, "do not bode well for stabilizing the situation and renewing political talks."

In his address to an open Security Council meeting, Annan said: "Israel has justified its acts as self-defense and 'counter-terrorist' measures.

"However, we need to be very clear that self-defense is not a blank check. It is important to understand that responding to terrorism does not in any way free Israel from its obligations under international law. Nor does it justify creating a human rights and humanitarian crisis within the occupied Palestinian territory."

He said: "There is an urgent need to comply with all provisions of international law, particularly those that ban indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force as well as the humiliating treatment of civilian populations.

"Israel's actions since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1402 do not bode well for stabilizing the situation and renewing talks," Annan said. "On the contrary, the Government of Israel appears to be moving in the opposite direction to that prescribed by resolution 1397 and 1402 -- a sure path to further escalation."

The resolution 1402 urged Israel to withdraw from Palestinian cities. Over the past days, speaker after speaker took the floor at the open Security Council debates to urge the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian territories and called for Israeli efforts to ensure safety and security of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

"Forcing Chairman Arafat (of the Palestinian Authority) into exile would be reckless," Annan said. "He is the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and his exile would only lead to even more violence and chaos."

He noted that deportation is specifically prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

"It would be a miscalculation of monumental proportions to believe that removing Chairman Arafat from the political scene and dismantling the Palestinian Authority would create conditions where Israel can achieve security for itself."

"The situation in the Middle East -- between Israel and Palestine, and across the Blue Line -- continues to deteriorate.

"All parties risk making serious miscalculations about the effect that their actions will have on each other. Such miscalculations can all too easily draw the region into greater and greater danger, whether intended or not."

The "Blue Line" is a border between Israel and Lebanon marked by the United Nations a month after Israel ended its occupation of southern Lebanon in May 2000. Both Lebanon and Syria have disputed the line since.

(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2002)