UNITED NATIONS, March 1: The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on Thursday called upon the Israel Defence Force to immediately withdraw from Palestinian refugee camps and urged both sides to halt attacks against civilians.

Reacting to Israeli defence forces’ invasion of Palestinian refugee camps, Annan said in a statement: “I much regret that today has seen yet another escalation of violence in the Middle East and more attacks on civilians by both sides, taking the number of deaths in the last 17 months to more than a thousand on the Palestinian side, and 288 on the Israeli side.”

Noting that within the last 48 hours, five Israelis and 16 Palestinians had lost their lives, Mr Annan said: “What distresses me particularly is that this time, as a result of incursions into refugee camps by the Israel Defence Force, large numbers of Palestinians are reported dead or injured. I call on the IDF to withdraw from these camps immediately, and I implore both sides to refrain from further actions which may endanger yet more civilian lives.”

They should remember that international law requires them to avoid and prevent attacks on civilians, and to respect the immunity of humanitarian facilities, including those of the United Nations, he added.