Jerusalem Orthodox Church Urges Un To Intervene In Mideast Conflict Promptly

Archimandrite Atalla Hanna, a spokesman for the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem and the Holy Land has called on the United Nations to intervene in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict promptly "in the name of protecting the Palestinian people." The Palestinian WAFA news agency made public his appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday, RIA Novosti reported. The cleric stressed that the UN intervention "must be an urgent one in the light of the carnage perpetrated by the Israeli occupying army" in the Palestinian village of Beit-Reema near Ramallah on Wednesday. Palestinian reports put the Israeli operation's casualty toll at 10 dead and dozens injured. The Archimandrite branded Israel's policy as "terrorist". He maintains Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon "is cynically exploiting in his own interests" the current international crisis involving violent developments in the United States and Afghanistan.