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Security Council wraps up three-day debate on violence in Middle East
5 October -- The Security Council this afternoon wrapped up three days of open debate on the latest crisis in the Middle East and decided to meet later in the evening in closed-door consultations to consider a draft resolution.

During the debate, which began on Tuesday, representatives of some 50 countries, including all members of the Security Council, took the floor. Amid wide condemnation of the ongoing violence, many speakers called for an international investigation and decried the disproportionate use of force and the killing of innocents, such as women and children.

Meanwhile in Brussels, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today that he was in almost daily contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. During a press encounter, Mr. Annan stressed that the UN would continue working with the parties to calm the situation.

In the Gaza Strip, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has paid condolences to the family of the 12-year-old boy, Mohammed Al-Durrah, who was killed in the violence. Visiting the family at their home in Bureij refugee camp yesterday, Commissioner-General Peter Hansen promised that his agency would provide assistance to enable family members to go to Amman to visit the father, Jamal Al-Durrah, who is currently in a hospital there. The Al-Durrah family is registered with UNRWA's special hardship case programme.

In a related development, the Gaza-based Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Terje Roed-Larsen, reported today that international efforts continued to meet the emergency medical needs in the occupied territories in the wake of the violence.

A humanitarian emergency task force set up earlier this week with the help of the Special Coordinator held its second meeting today, noting that despite some problems in the crisis areas, the delivery of medical assistance, including the movement of personnel and equipment, had been proceeding well. The task force reported that over $1 million worth of assistance had been pledged to date and that contributions continued to be received on a daily basis.