United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mrs Mary Robinson has urged Israel and the Palestinians to summon up the political will to end the suffering of their people.
"I want to send a very strong message as part of my responsibility for human rights that it is absolutely urgent to have a political way forward," Ms Robinson told
Reuters
in an interview.
"People cannot go on suffering this way. There is an international responsibility but there is also a responsibility on the Israeli government and on the Palestinian Authority. It is terrible to wake up every morning and to follow during the day the toll of deaths and serious injuries, the grieving families and decimated communities," she said.
"I am calling for a focus politically to address this issue because the human rights situation is unacceptable, is bleak and is worsening," Mrs Robinson said. She is in Lebanon after visiting Cairo and Bahrain on a Middle East tour.
She called on Arab and Western powers to redouble efforts to revive stalled peace talks and said she hoped a new peace initiative by Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah would result in progress.
The Saudi proposal calls for a complete Israeli withdrawal from all Arab land occupied in the 1967 Middle East War in return for full normalisation of Arab ties with Israel.
The former Irish president also discussed human rights issues, including those of Palestinian refugees, in Lebanon during talks with President Mr Emile Lahoud.
She is due to travel to Afghanistan to take part in the International Women's Day and open a human rights workshop.