UN Human Rights Commissioner, Mrs Mary Robinson, arrived yesterday in Jordan from Gaza, saying the situation in the Palestinian territories was "very serious" and she would raise the matter in a report.
"I am very concerned about the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories," Mrs Robinson said in a statement broadcast on state television.
She cited the surge of deadly violence in the Gaza Strip and West Bank yesterday, saying the "situation is very serious".
Her trip to Jordan, following talks in Egypt, is aimed at discussing "personally the complex human rights situation" with the officials of both countries.
Earlier in the Gaza Strip she condemned Israel's excessive use of force to quell the Palestinian uprising.
"I have been made very aware of the strong need for international protection," Mrs Robinson told reporters in Gaza City after meeting Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat. "I am very concerned about excessive use of force."
Palestinians want international forces to monitor the West Bank and Gaza Strip, they say to prevent Israel from gunning down Palestinian demonstrators. Mrs Robinson told reporters that there was a "disturbing pattern" to the bullet wounds received by Palestinians shot by Israeli soldiers during the daily clashes.
"There were a disproportionate number of injuries to the upper body, the head and many from live ammunition or rubber-bullets fired at very close quarters," she said.
Mrs Robinson's aides have taken pains to note that her visit to Israel has been planned since February and that it was not linked specifically to an October 19th resolution by the UN Human Rights Commission calling on her to travel urgently to the region to investigate Israeli actions against Palestinians.