Good heavens, when did Kofi wake up?

16/11/2002 05:28 PM Reuters

Following a new deadly attack on Jewish settlers, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned Palestinians that such acts were highly damaging to their cause.

"The secretary-general is horrified by the despicable terrorist attack in the West Bank town of Hebron," the United Nations said in a statement on Friday. "He condemns this latest terrorist act against Israeli civilians in the strongest possible terms and conveys his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the government of Israel."

Annan "reiterates his appeal to all Palestinian groups to stop all such acts of senseless violence, which are extremely harmful to the Palestinian cause," the statement said.

The statement was issued after Palestinian gunmen ambushed Jewish settlers walking home from Sabbath eve prayers in Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs, killing at least a dozen people and wounding 15.

The group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, which raised the spectre of heavy retaliation by Israel's right-wing government, perpetuating a cycle of violence in which at least 1,659 Palestinians and 639 Israelis have been killed since September 2000.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has surged as the campaign for Israel's January 28 general election gets under way, putting international peace efforts on hold and deepening regional uncertainty ahead of a possible U.S. war on Iraq.

-- Anonymous, November 16, 2002