Violence increases in occupied territories.

• Position: West Bank and Gaza - United Nations developments

A "substantial increase" in violent incidents in the West Bank and Gaza, in which both Palestinians and Israelis were killed and wounded, drew an appeal from UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali for restraint from all sides and for avoiding steps which might aggravate the situation.

In a 20 May statement, he expressed concern over "the sharp deterioration of the economic situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, resulting from Israel's decision at the end of March to close off the territories." He also appealed for greater international economic assistance to the occupied territories.

The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Ilter Turkmen, told a meeting of 24 Governments and the European Community that there could be substantial reduction in services to 2.7 million Palestinian refugees if contributions to alleviate the Agency's $28.5-million deficit were not forthcoming. The meeting was held at UNRWA's headquarters in Vienna on 6 and 7 May.

A |courageous step'

On 21 April, the Secretary-General called the Palestinian decision to participate in the ninth round of Middle East negotiations, which were to resume in Washington, D.C., on 27 April, "a courageous step."

M. Nasser Al-Kidwa, Permanent observer for Palestine, in New York told the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that the decision was based on the expectation that certain promises that had been made would be fulfilled and that there would be a change in Israel's attitude.

On 28 June, Chinmaya R. Gharekhan, the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the multilateral negotiations of the Middle East peace talks, told the ninth UN North American Seminar on the Question of Palestine (27-29 June, New York) that the deteriorating economic conditions that had arisen as a result of Israel's closing of the occupied territories remained of serious concern. Efforts to pursue peace should...