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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, September 21, 2002

UN Envoy Calls for Comprehensive Solution to Middle East Crisis

A senior UN envoy to the Middle East said here Friday that only a comprehensive approach topeace would lead to a settlement.


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A senior UN envoy to the Middle East said here Friday that only a comprehensive approach topeace would lead to a settlement.

Terje Roed-Larsen, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, reported to the Security Council at an open meeting that following a period of relative calm, the region is undergoing intensified clashes.

He cited a bomb blast in a Palestinian school, a series of deadly Israeli incursions, and two suicide bombings which killed some Israeli civilians.

"These are repugnant and tragic events which the Secretary-General has condemned unreservedly," he said.

On Thursday, the Israeli Defense Force once again encircled Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's offices in Ramallah, carrying out "major demolitions" in a siege which continues Friday, the envoy reported, pointing out that the security situation was undermining reform efforts.

"Yesterday's incursion and the renewed isolation of President Arafat's compound undoubtedly weaken the position of those workingfor major reform," he noted.

The envoy stressed that the Israelis and the Palestinians must both take steps in several areas.

"Improved security performance and humanitarian delivery are essential, but it will not be possible to sustain progress in either field without parallel movement in the political area," he said, noting that the concept of "security first" would not work.

"Steps need to be taken not on a sequential basis, but in parallel and with reciprocity," he said.

Larsen also recalled that the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East had agreed that the humanitarian situation, security issues and the political process are all closely linked, and that no one aspect could be resolved without attention to the others.

Citing new statistics from a new report produced by his office,Larsen said that Palestinian unemployment now hovered around 50 percent, poverty levels have reached 70 percent in Gaza and 55 percent in the West Bank, and income loses were estimated at 7.6 million US dollars a day, or 3.3 billion dollars since October 2000.

"On top of this, the PA (Palestinian Authority) is facing a fiscal crisis; this month, for instance, the cost of PA operationsand supplies stands at 90 million dollars, while the total resources available are less than 55 million dollars," he said.


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