UN tells Israel to end its ‘illegal occupation’ of Palestinian land

KOFI Annan, the UN secretary general, harshly criticised Israel yesterday, calling on it to rein in its attacks on Palestinian civilians and end its "illegal occupation" of Palestinian lands.

In an emotional plea delivered at a public meeting of the UN Security Council, Mr Annan said the Middle East death toll had soared to appalling levels and urged leaders on both sides to "lead your peoples away from disaster".

In his toughest message to date to Israel, he said: "You must end the illegal occupation" of lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Aides said it was the first time Mr Annan had described the occupations as illegal.

Mr Annan also appealed to Israeli defence forces to stop "the bombing of civilian areas, the assassinations, the unnecessary use of lethal force, the demolitions and the daily humiliation of ordinary Palestinians".

He said: "Such actions gravely erode Israel’s standing in the international community and further fuel the fires of hatred, despair and extremism among Palestinians."

He also condemned the Palestinians, saying they "have played their full part in the escalating cycle of violence, counter-violence and revenge".

Mr Annan said he was "particularly disturbed" by the rise in Palestinian suicide bombings, which he called "morally repugnant".

Bowing to pressure from right-wing critics, Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, earlier ordered a huge Israeli offensive in Gaza and sent more than 100 tanks into the Palestinian West Bank capital of Ramallah.

It was the biggest Israeli operation since the start of the intifada in September 2000.

Even so, the scale of the offensive was not enough to satisfy two ultra-nationalist ministers who resigned from Mr Sharon’s coalition government yesterday.