At a crucial and potentially seminal juncture for Middle East peace, Israel’s announced withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, if carried out in the right way, could usher in a new era of peacemaking in the Middle East, Terje Roed-Larsen told the Security Council this morning. At the same time, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of Kofi Annan continued, if such a withdrawal was implemented in the wrong way, it would lead to more violence, possibly bringing the situation to a new low in the dismal annals of the Palestinian-Israeli tragedy.  “This is the cross-roads we are at today.” Read more about UN representative says impact of Israel's Gaza plan depends on crucial decisions 

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has condemned Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Abdelaziz Rantissi and called on the country to end the practice of extrajudicial killngs, which violate international law. “He is apprehensive that such an action would lead to further deterioration of an already distressing and fragile situation,” a spokesman for the Secretary-General said in a statement issued on Saturday evening in New York. The statement emphasized that the only way to halt an escalation in the violence is for Israelis and Palestinians to work towards a viable negotiating process. Read more about Annan condemns Israel's assassination of Hamas leader Abdelaziz Rantissi 

The United Nations International Meeting on the Impact of the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including In and Around East Jerusalem, concluded its two-day session this afternoon with participants expressing deep concern about the dangerous current and potential humanitarian consequences of the construction of the wall and urging active involvement of the international community to resolve this crisis. A final document said participants expressed deep concern over the dangerous current and potential humanitarian consequences of the construction of the wall. Read more about UN meeting criticizes impact of Israel's construction of wall in the West Bank 

Calling on the Israeli Government today to restore full access to Gaza for humanitarian aid, the UN Special Coordinator’s Office said new Israeli-imposed restrictions on staff movements may force humanitarian agencies to cut back on assisting Gaza’s civilian population. Nearly all humanitarian aid vehicles from the UN and other agencies have been banned from crossing at the Erez checkpoint in the last three weeks, while transporting food through the Karni corssing is now obstructed, UNSCO said. Read more about UN humanitarian agencies urge Israel to lift movement restrictions into Gaza 

The UN Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution that would have condemned the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, with the United States vetoing what it called a one-sided text. The resolution garnered 11 tallies in favour, with the United States casting the sole vote against it. Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom abstained. Speaking before the vote, the US representative explained that his country opposed the resolution because it was “silent about the terrorist atrocities committed by Hamas,” did not reflect the realities of the conflict in the Middle East and “because it will not further the goals of peace and security in the region.” Read more about Security Council fails to adopt resolution condemning assassination of Yassin 

Amid rising tensions in the Middle East following Monday’s assassination of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza, the Security Council held an open meeting today with nearly 40 speakers scheduled to take part in the debate. Palestinian delegate Nasser al-Kidwa, described the killing of Sheikh Yassin as a “war crime,” and held the occupying power and the Israeli leadership legally and politically responsible for committing that crime, as well as for the consequences that it entailed. The UN Security Council did not issue a statement on the killing. According to the Council’s President due to lack of “consensus”. Read more about Security Council meets on killing of Hamas leader Yassin 

United Nations officials today condemned Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, with Secretary-General Kofi Annan calling for all concerned to avert an intensification of the conflict. “I do condemn the targeted assassination of Sheikh Yassin and the others who died with him,” Mr. Annan told reporters as he arrived at UN Headquarters in New York. “Such actions are not only contrary to international law, but they do not do anything to help the search for a peaceful solution.” With the Quartet meeting today in Cairo, Annan said the assassination “has complicated issues.” Read more about Annan, UN envoy condemn Israeli assassination of Hamas leader 

The Commission on Human Rights continued this afternoon its general debate on the right of peoples to self-determination and its application to peoples under colonial or alien occupation, hearing speakers mainly focus on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Jammu and Kashmir. Representatives focused on the issue of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, saying that the Israeli occupation had deprived the people of Palestine of the most basic internationally recognized right to establish their independent State with Jerusalem as their capital. Read more about Commission on human rights continues debate on self-determination