Israel firmly opposes a Palestinian proposal that the United Nations deploy 2,000 military observers to protect Palestinian civilians from Israeli forces, foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami said Thursday.
"The only thing we need to do now is simply to cease violence, to observe the Sharm el-Sheikh memorandum and get back to the business of peace-making," Ben Ami told reporters after meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
The Palestinian proposal Wednesday came as deadly gunbattles raged in flashpoint areas of the Palestinian territories, threatening to derail efforts to bring Israeli and Palestinian officials together to end five weeks of bloodshed.
It was made in a working paper circulated to members of the non-aligned nations group and faxed to reporters.
UN officials said the Security Council, the sole body with the authority to establish observer missions or peacekeeping forces, would discuss the proposal Wednesday, the day after the US presidential election -- UNITED NATIONS (AFP)
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