Top UN rights official 'deeply dismayed' over Israeli attack in Nablus

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, today expressed "deep dismay" over the escalating violence in the occupied territories following an Israeli attack in the town of Nablus which left at least eight people dead, including two children.

"This daily violation of the right to life must stop," said Mrs. Robinson in a statement released in Geneva. "The violence will not lead to a resolution of the conflict, but it does cause more suffering and makes the entire situation even more dangerous."

Recalling her visit to the Middle East last year, Mrs. Robinson questioned how many lives - both Palestinian and Israeli - could have been saved if her recommendation for the dispatch of international observers to the region had been implemented.

"Upon returning from the area in November, I recommended that every effort should be made to explore the feasibility of establishing an international monitoring presence in the occupied territories," said the High Commissioner. She noted that this call had been echoed at the recent "Group of Eight" summit in Genoa, which brought together the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation.