Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei hit back Thursday at the UN Middle East envoy who harshly criticized Arafat's inaction, terming his criticism "non-objective". Qurei said in a statement that Terji Roed-Larsen's criticism was "non objective" for he "has equaled the Palestinian victim with the Israeli aggressor."

When briefing the United Nations on Wednesday, Larsen harshly criticised Palestinian Yasser Arafat for his passivity and inaction in reforming the security apparatuses, a move called for by the international community as part of Palestinian efforts to revive the stalled Middle East roadmap peace process.

Immediately following Larsen's remarks, Palestinians

officials voiced anger, announcing Larsen an unwelcome person to the Palestinian territories.

Qurei called upon UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan "to direct his employees that serve in the Palestinian territories to practice their job objectively and in harmony with the principle of the international organization." He noted that one objective action was taken by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague when the court ruled last Friday against the Israeli separation wall, demanding it be torn down.

The UN General Assembly is due to convene on Friday to vote for the advisory decision by the ICJ. Palestinians officials expressed confidence that Larsen's criticism would not sway the UN decision on the barrier issue.

Source: Xinhua