June 11, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1424

UNITED NATIONS, June 10: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed concern at Tuesday’s bid by the Israeli army to kill a senior leader of the Hamas, saying it would complicate efforts to curb violence and end terrorism.

“Hamas’s leadership has taken the strategic decision to scuttle the implementation of the roadmap and destroy any opening for dialogue which might end terrorism and restart political negotiations,” it said in a statement entitled “Attack against a senior Hamas official.”

UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said Annan expressed “serious concern over today’s attempted extrajudicial killing” and reiterated his consistent opposition to such actions.

The attack was “likely to complicate even further the efforts by the Palestinian prime minister (Mahmud Abbas) to halt violence and terrorism by Palestinian groups,” Eckhard said in a statement.

Noting that a Palestinian woman and her young daughter died in the attack, he said Annan “calls again on the government of Israel to desist from the disproportionate use of force, especially in densely populated areas.”

The attack on Gaza graphically illustrated the “stark choice” facing Israelis and Palestinians, Annan said.

“Either they follow the roadmap that leads to the establishment of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security; or they take the low road that spirals down into an endless cycle of violence, counterviolence and revenge,” he added.

He urged leaders on both sides to “show the wisdom, courage and restraint needed to commit themselves to implementing the roadmap, as part of the search for a just, lasting and comprehensive settlement in the Middle East.”

ARAB REACTION: Top Arab officials accused Israel of trying to torpedo a fresh US drive for Middle East peace with the helicopter strike.—AFP