HIGH COMMISSIONER CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS IN ISRAEL

6 January 2003


The following statement was issued today by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Sergio Vieira de Mello:


The High Commissioner for Human Rights is deeply concerned over the escalating violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He learned with shock of the terrorist attacks perpetrated on Sunday in a crowded neighborhood of Tel Aviv and which killed at least 23 people and injured more than 100. Such indiscriminate attacks on civilians are illegal acts aimed at the destruction of the most basic human rights.

The High Commissioner calls on the Palestinian Authority to do its utmost to investigate these heinous crimes and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice, and to do everything within its power to prevent the recurrence of such acts. The violence only fuels hatred and hardens positions; it will not lead to a resolution of the conflict. The High Commissioner also urges the Israeli authorities to exercise utmost restraint and fully respect international law.

The High Commissioner again appeals to both Israelis and Palestinians to end the cycle of violence and return to negotiations, the aim of which should be a just and durable settlement, in conformity with fundamental human rights standards.



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