Annan condemns two suicide bombings against Israel

Deeply concerned, Annan condemns two suicide bombings against Israelis

Voicing deep concern over the escalation in violence, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today condemned the two suicide bombings in the Israeli town of Rosh Ha'ayin and outside the settlement of Ariel, and urged both Israelis and Palestinians to adhere to the Middle East peace plan and show restraint.

"The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the current escalation in the violence, including the recent (Israeli) incursion into Askar refugee camp near Nablus and last night's shooting incidents in the Gaza Strip," Mr. Annan said in a statement issued by a UN spokesperson. "He urges both parties to adhere to their Road Map obligations and to exercise restraint in the face of provocation."

The Road Map peace plan, sponsored by the so-called diplomatic Quartet of the UN, United States, European Union and Russian Federation, calls for Israel and the Palestinians to take a series of parallel and reciprocal steps culminating in the achievement of two states living side by side in peace by 2005.

Two Israelis were killed and a dozen others wounded in the bombings, and Mr. Annan extended "his sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims of these terrorist attacks."

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