The League of Arab States asked the Security Council Wednesday to hold a meeting to consider the “dangerous situation” in the West Bank.
A spokeswoman for the United Nations said the request was being considered and presumed a meeting would be held soon.
The league’s request came after a complaint by the Palestine observer mission contained in a letter Tuesday to Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar.
Nasser al-Kidwa, the acting head of the mission office, wrote that the situation in the “Palestinian territory occupied by Israel” has deteriorated as the result of “additional repressive measures against our people.”
Al-Kidwa cited the deaths of three Palestinian teenagers over the weekend and said 55 Palestinians had been killed since December.
The Palestine observer mission, officially recognized as such by the General Assembly after the Palestine National Council declared an independent state Nov. 15, was formerly known as the observer mission of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The PLO is seeking a statement that would condemn Israeli policies and practices against the Arab residents of the territories.
The formal request from the Arab states caps three weeks of intense diplomacy by the PLO.
Last week, due to U.S. pressure, the PLO was thwarted in an attempt to introduce a statement condemning Israel.
The United States called a draft of the statement one-sided.
The PLO’s latest move coincides with a U.S. State Department report on worldwide human rights, released this week, that was highly critical of Israel’s handling of the uprising.
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