UN officials condemn suicide bombing in Israel

Two senior United Nations officials today added their voices to Secretary-General Kofi Annan's "utter condemnation" of Tuesday's suicide bomb attack in Rishon Letzion which killed 15 Israelis and wounded many others.

Reacting to the event with "dismay and disgust," the UN Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen, expressed particular sorrow "that such an act of wanton destruction had led to the loss of yet more civilian lives." He extended condolences to the victim's families.

"This cynical act and other previous acts of such murderous proportions cannot be justified under any cause," Mr. Roed-Larsen said in a statement issued in Gaza.

The UN envoy, who met today in Ramallah with Abu Ala, the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and other Palestinian officials, described the suicide bombings as "immoral and illegal" and stressed that they were aimed at hampering efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace. "They must be stopped," he said.

Mr. Roed-Larsen repeated his call on Palestinian individuals and groups to halt these attacks and emphasized that peace could only be achieved through a negotiated solution. The international community, he added, stood ready to assist in the reconstruction and reform effort in order to achieve peace.

The attack was also condemned "in the strongest possible terms" by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson who called on the Palestinian Authority to bring those responsible to justice and repudiate the culture of suicide bombings.

"Such heinous crimes are inimical to human rights and [stand] in violation of international law," she said in a statement. "Moreover, the timing appears to be aimed at - but must not succeed in - undermining efforts to make political progress which is essential to restore the human security of both Israelis and Palestinians."