Observer of Palestine requests urgent Security Council meeting

The Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations has requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council, citing its "obligation to effectively and immediately intervene to put an end to the present tragic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem," according to a document released today at UN Headquarters in New York.

In a letter to the Secretary-General and the Council President, Ambassador Nasser Al-Kidwa points to recent Israeli actions in the city of Jenin, calling them "another qualitative escalation in the bloody Israeli military campaign being waged against the Palestinian people since last September."

"We call upon the Council to meet and to take the necessary action in this regard in a speedy and prompt manner," Ambassador Al-Kidwa states.

Asked about the matter, a UN spokesman noted that Mr. Al-Kidwa had met on Tuesday with the current President of the Security Council, Ambassador Alfonso Valdivieso of Colombia.