Courage needed more than ever. (Peace Watch).

Reacting to a speech on 24 June by United States President George Bush, Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the President's reaffirmation that the outcome of the Middle East peace process should be the establishment of a viable and credible State of Palestine-based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973)--and security for Israel. In a statement, Mr Annan urged Israelis and Palestinians to "muster the courage and political will to make it possible within three years to replace the Israeli occupation of 1967 by a negotiated settlement with two States living side by side in peace and security".

Repeating his long-standing position that "there is no military solution to the conflict", he warned that with the situation on the ground eroding by the day, the international community must work swiftly with the parties to restart a political process that will lead to the realization of such an outcome. The Secretary-General looked forward to continuing consultations with the UN partners in the Quartet--European Union, Russian Federation and United States--and with the parties and key regional actors "to determine the next steps towards achieving this".

The Secretary-General on 5 June condemned a bomb attack in northern Israel. The "brutal and wilful killing of innocent civilians can never be justified, no matter what the political objective", Mr. Annan said, adding that "the enemies of peace should not be allowed to derail this process".

On 22 May, responding to the latest suicide bombing against Israeli citizens, Terje Roed-Larsen, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, stressed that terrorist attacks from any quarter were unacceptable and could not be tolerated by the international community. He had beenattending the meeting in Ramallah that brought together senior representatives of the Quartet for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. They had come to offer full support to the reform initiatives undertaken by President Arafat, along with those proposed by the Palestinian Legislative Council. Mr. Roed-Larsen said "these reforms proposed by Palestinians for the benefit of Palestinians are an important first step for achieving the vision we all share, and that is the establishment of a democratic, secure and economically viable Palestinian State alongside and at peace with Israel". In addition, the Quartet called on Israel to foster a climate conducive to reform, particularly by easing restrictions on the movement of Palestinian people and goods.

The General Assembly on 7 May condemned the attacks by Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people in several cities, decried the refusal by Israel to cooperate with a UN fact-finding mission to the Jenin refugee camp, and condemned all acts of violence and terror against Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

Expressing concern over the "dire" humanitarian situation of Palestinian civilians amid reports of destruction and an unknown number of deaths in the Jenin refugee camp, the Security Council on 19 April had called for the lifting of restrictions imposed on relief organizations and stressed the urgent need for access to the Palestinian civilian population. In resolution 1405 (2002), the Council also welcomed the initiative of the Secretary-General to develop accurate information about recent events in the Jenin camp through a fact-finding team and requested him to keep the Council informed. Both resolutions 1402 (2002) and 1403 (2002) called for steps by the parties towards a meaningful ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian cities.

On 4 April, the Council had demanded the implementation "without delay" of resolution 1402 on the Middle East and welcomed the mission to the region by United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as the peace efforts by the Quartet. Adopted resolution 1403 also requested Secretary-General Annan to "follow the situation and keep the Council informed".