UNITED NATIONS -- Saying that "the scale of the carnage is horrifying" in the Middle East, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan today criticized Israel and the Palestinians for targeting civilians and called on their leaders to "recognize that security and a political settlement are indivisible."

Addressing the Security Council, Annan was unusually harsh and graphic in his description of the conflict.  "The situation is the worst in 10 years," he said.  "Escalation has been met with escalation with little and in some cases no regard for innocent civilian lives.  Acts that are disproportionate in scale and indiscriminate in their effect are occurring on an almost daily basis."

He criticized Israel for its massive military operations.  "I am profoundly disturbed by the increasing use of heavy weaponry by Israel in civilians areas," Annan said.  "Large-scale military operations have taken place throughout civilian areas and refugee camps, causing large-scale loss of life."  This has also led to what Annan called "growing disregard" for the safety of aid workers, including U.N. personnel.

"The Palestinians have played their full part in the escalating cycle of violence, counter-violence and revenge," he added.  "I am particularly disturbed by suicide attacks which deliberately target civilians, spreading fear and anxiety throughout the general population."

Annan told the Palestinians that they have a right to a state, "but you must stop all acts of terror and all suicide bombings.  The deliberate and indiscriminate targeting of civilians is morally repugnant."  Likewise, he said Israel has the right to peace and security, "but you must end the illegal occupation.  More urgently, you must stop the bombing of civilian areas, the assassinations, the unnecessary use of lethal force, the demolitions, and the daily humiliation of ordinary Palestinians."  He said these attacks erode international support for their causes and are only leading to more violence.

Annan welcomed the peace proposal of Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia as "a clear and compelling vision of peace in the Middle East."  With an eye to the upcoming Arab summit in Beirut at the end of the month, Annan said, "I appeal to the leaders of the Arab world not to give up on the search for but rather to unite in support of this vision."

Annan also welcomed the United States' plan to send its special envoy, Anthony Zinni, back to the region and called on Sharon and Arafat to "engage constructively" with him.

Israeli and Palestinian representatives attended the meeting, but neither they nor any council members spoke.  The council went into a closed-door session after Annan's statement (Jim Wurst, UN Wire, March 12).

U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said yesterday that the last few days of almost constant violence and the current situation in the Middle East do not "allow for optimism," but he pointed to two recent positive developments -- that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided "to waive his previous precondition for talking with the Palestinians -- that precondition being that there has to be absolute peace, not one stone thrown for seven days," and that Palestinian leader "Yasser Arafat's freedom of movement is in the process of being restored" (U.N. release, March 11).

Sharon's office officially announced yesterday that the travel ban against Arafat is being lifted, granting him freedom of movement throughout the West Bank and Gaza, although Israel will not allow Arafat to attend the Arab summit, Ha'aretz reports.  Arafat remained at his Ramallah headquarters yesterday and Palestinian officials did not disclose when they thought he might leave the compound (Ha'aretz, March 12).

The Palestinian Authority today urged the Security Council to "immediately" send international observers to the Middle East in response to the deaths of close to 20 Palestinians in Israeli attacks overnight.  Arafat's adviser, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said the Palestinian Authority "holds the Israeli government responsible for this dangerous escalation and for the deterioration of the situation" (Agence France-Presse, March 12).

The Palestinians have repeatedly appealed for international observers to be sent to the Middle East to help monitor a cease-fire, but Israel has adamantly opposed the idea out of concern that such monitors would be under the auspices of the United Nations or the European Union, bodies Israel claims is biased against it.  In previous discussions, however, Israel has not ruled out the possibility of accepting U.S. observers.

Diplomats said yesterday that the Bush administration is renewing a proposal to dispatch U.S. monitors to the Middle East, and that Israel is receptive to the idea, the New York Times reports.  There has been no final agreement on such a proposal, although officials said the monitors would likely include diplomats and CIA officers. 

Officials said yesterday, according to the Times, that Zinni hopes to reach an agreement for using U.S. monitors during his visit to the Middle East this week.  "The United States is willing to send in some monitors to assist in watching the situation and giving some confidence to both sides, and sort of just helping keep the process moving," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation, although he did not specify how many except to say "some small number.  Maybe it will grow over time" (Todd Purdum, New York Times, March 12).

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during his meeting today with Jordan's King Abdullah (AFP/Jordan Times, March 12).  For a PBS NewsHour interview with U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice on the latest developments in the Middle East, click here.  To read a commentary by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on the current Middle East peace process and the potential role of the Saudi peace proposal, click here.

According to CNN.com, Israel launched one of the largest offensives against what it deems "terrorist infrastructures" by moving hundreds of troops and dozens of tanks into Gaza late yesterday, while some of its other forces conducted attacks in the West Bank.  Seventeen Palestinians were killed at the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza, and 80 others were wounded, the Palestine Red Crescent said.  Another Palestinian was killed in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, while four others were killed in Ramallah, the agency said.  Three other Palestinians were killed during an Israeli airstrike against Khan Younis in Gaza, according to Palestinian security forces.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said the Jabalya attack was a "bloodbath."  According to an Israeli army spokesman, "The army is currently operating against terrorists and terrorist infrastructures in the Gaza Strip.  These actions are conducted to stop massacres by terrorists and suicide bombers."  A senior Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) official also said Israel had no choice but to launch a strike against Ramallah.  "We couldn't stand it anymore.  Ramallah produces waves of suicide bombers and gunmen," he said.  "We called on the Palestinian Authority to act, but they showed no authority" (CNN.com, March 12).  Arafat said the Israeli army's actions involving the rounding up Palestinians in the refugee camps amounted to "new Nazi racism" (Jordan Times, March 12).

The Palestinians accused the Israeli army of trying to reoccupy the West Bank and Gaza Strip and undermine Zinni's visit later this week (Mohammed Assadi, Reuters, March 12).

The attack on Jabalya, the largest Palestinian refugee camp, was said to have lasted about three hours, ending around 1:30 a.m.  The Israeli army reported no casualties among its troops (Lee Hockstader, Washington Post, March 12).  AFP reports that more than 100 people have died in the escalating violence in the Middle East within the past week, the most violent period yet in the latest cycle of violence that began in September 2000 (AFP/ReliefWeb, March 12).

Corriere Della Sera reports that the Israeli army shot at close to 30 journalists, including some Western media, who were taking refuge in a hotel in Ramallah.  According to one journalist, Amedeo Ricucci, the troops started firing at them "when they realized we were filming," although no one was injured in the incident (Corriere Della Sera, March 12, UN Wire translation).

IDF raids in the past 10 days on Palestinian refugee camps have damaged a total of 1,620 residences and 14 public facilities, including schools, according to preliminary assessments by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.  The buildings have sustained damage from shootings and bombings and whole walls have been torn down by Israeli troop equipment, the agency said.  There are no figures at this time for the total cost of the damage.  UNRWA buildings have also sustained quite a bit of damage in the raids (Amira Hass, Ha'aretz, March 12).

One Palestinian official said that the Palestinians are planning to ask Arab countries for more financial assistance during the Arab summit to help compensate losses faced by their work force as a direct result of the violence of the last 18 months.  Those losses are estimated to amount to more than $6 billion (Dalya Dajani, Jordan Times, March 12).