August 7, 2002	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 27,1423

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug 6: The UN General Assembly in a resolution on Monday expressed concern over Israel’s occupation of Palestinian cities and called for an immediate end to the occupation.

Following a daylong debate on Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s recent report on events in Jenin and other Palestinian cities, the UN General Assembly also decried all acts of violence, terror, provocation, incitement and destruction in Israel.

The Assembly passed the resolution 114-4 against. The four countries which opposed the resolution were the US, Israel, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. There were 11 abstentions.

The resolution also called for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from densely populated Palestinian areas to positions held before Sept 2000. Support was expressed for the reconstruction of the Palestinian Authority, the reform of Palestinian institutions and the holding of democratic and free elections.

The United Nations Assembly also stressed that all concerned must ensure the safety of civilians and respect the universally accepted norms of international humanitarian law.

Mr Annan produced his report in response to a General Assembly resolution adopted in May requesting that he base the document on “available resources and information”.

The resolution also blasted Israel’s refusal to cooperate with a fact-finding mission. The mission was proposed by the secretary-general and backed by the Security Council.