Israel urged the Security Council today to reject a request for unarmed UN observers in the Palestinian territories, saying such a force could inflame violence.
"This is an initiative which is completely unnecessary," the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Yehuda Lancry, said.
He was speaking at the start of an open debate in the council, called at the request of non-aligned nations on behalf of the Palestinian observer to the UN, Mr Nasser AlKidwa.
Mr Lancry echoed comments made by Israeli Foreign Minister Mr Shimon Peres, who told council members in a private session on Wednesday that the new Israeli government wanted to resume peace talks with the Palestinians.
Mr Lancry repeatedly accused Palestinian leader Mr Yasser Arafat of failing to halt the violence which erupted in the territories in late September.
Mr Arafat had not once called upon his people to stop their intifadah, he said, adding that in recent months the Palestinian leadership had "consistently acted to encourage rather than quell the confrontations."
A total of 438 people have been killed in the clashes, most of them Palestinians.
The Palestinian request for a UN observer force was "a blatant attempt to obscure their strategic choice," Mr Lancry said, "and the Security Council must not be a party to it."
The United Nations could not be called on to "put out fires on behalf of the same party that has kindled the flames," he said.
He further warned the council that an observer force had "the potential to actually escalate the violence and further destabilise the region."
AFP