Security Council to meet on situation in Middle East, including Palestinian question

Members of the Security Council have agreed to hold a formal meeting to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question, in an open session held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the UN news center reported Friday.

Following hours of closed-door consultations among Council members on Thursday, the 15-member body decided to hold its formal meeting on Monday, 20 August. The meeting will be open to non-Council members as well.

The decision followed a request earlier this week by the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN, who sought an urgent meeting of the Security Council, citing its "obligation to effectively and immediately intervene to put an end to the present tragic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem."

In identical letters to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Council President Alfonso Valdivieso of Colombia, Ambassador Nasser Al-Kidwa called upon the Council "to meet and to take the necessary action" to address the prevailing situation.

Several international and regional organizations, including the Organization of Islamic Conference, have called the UN to shoulder responsibility and stop the slaughter of the unarmed Palestinian people.