“We have seen an impressive improvement in the organisation of the voting process during the fourth phase of local elections in the Palestinian Territories, compared to previous phases’, said Christopher Newbury, Head of the Council of Europe Congress Election Observation Mission, following the elections. “We are pleased that the Palestinian authorities have acted upon our recommendations”, he said, pointing out that two voter lists - based on the voter registration list and on the civil register - were replaced by only one electoral list, and that the question of overcrowding of polling stations has been efficiently addressed by breaking up large polling centres into smaller units. Read more about Palestinian local elections: marked improvement, challenges remain 

Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the opening session of the UN Latin American and Caribbean Meeting on the Question of Palestine in Caracas this morning that Palestinians needed to know that the future viability of a Palestinian State would not be eroded by settlement activity and barrier construction; Israelis needed to be assured that their security would not be compromised by failure to act decisively against terror. Vice-Minister for External Relations of Venezuela Alcides Rondón said that today, there was a change in the international context, in which the least favoured countries and countries without a voice were beginning to exercise their inalienable rights. Read more about UN Latin American, Caribbean Meeting on Question of Palestine opens in Caracas 

With Palestinians and Israelis gearing up for their respective elections, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is urging both parties to accelerate existing efforts to build peace and mutual trust. “Their elections will have important repercussions on the peace process,” Mr. Annan said in a message to the United Nations Latin American and Caribbean Meeting on the Question of Palestine, being held in Caracas, Venezuela. But he added that the parties must act on their obligations under the Road Map, an outline peace plan which aims to achieve two States – Israel and Palestine – living side by side within secure and internationally recognized borders. Read more about Israelis and Palestinians should accelerate peace efforts, Annan says 

Coordinator, Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, Jerusalem, Jeff Halper, told participants this afternoon at the United Nations Latin American and Caribbean Meeting on the Question of Palestine, that given the facts on the ground, a two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was no longer viable. Israel’s unilateral moves created an illusion of a Palestinian State that would leave Israel in control. This afternoon’s session, part of a two-day meeting sponsored by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, heard presentations by experts on the question of Palestine. Read more about Speakers at Caracas meeting explore situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory 

UN agencies and non-governmental organisations today are appealing for $215 million in emergency assistance for people in the occupied Palestinian territory. The reason for yet another Appeal in the occupied Palestinian territory - this is the fourth consecutive year - is because the humanitarian situation is largely unchanged. Poverty rates have increased in 2005 compared to 2004. Gaza, the northern and southern areas of the West Bank are the areas of most acute need. The Appeal is part of a global appeal of $4.7 billion launched by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, for 18 countries and regions facing humanitarian crises. Read more about Emergency Appeal targets $215 million for poorest Palestinians 

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) today laid the cornerstone for the “Saudi Project to Rehouse Homeless Refugee Families”, funded through a generous contribution of $20 million from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This grant, administered by the Saudi Fund for Development through UNRWA, will cover the construction of new shelters for over 800 homeless refugee families, three schools, a health centre, a mosque, a community centre, a market area and all related infrastructure works. The project will help alleviate some of the hardship being felt in the Gaza Strip by providing several hundred thousand days of temporary employment. Read more about UNRWA inaugurates Saudi-funded Rafah Re-housing Project 

Today the Commission is signing its €14 million contribution to the newly established European-Palestinian Credit Guarantee Fund. The Guarantee Fund, led by the German Development Bank (KfW), will support Palestinian small and medium size enterprises’ financing from local banks in the form of soft loans and grants. This €29 million Fund will be made up of contributions from the Commission (€14 million), KfW (€5 million), and the European Investment Bank (EIB) (€10 million). In addition to the Fund’s capital, the financing partners are providing technical assistance to the European-Palestinian Credit Guarantee Fund and partner banks with a view to strengthening the financial sector in the Palestinian Territories. Read more about Commission contributes €14 million to the Euro-Palestinian Credit Guarantee Fund 

Twenty countries pledged approximately $73.5 million for the 2006 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), during a meeting this morning of the General Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions. As he opened the meeting, General Assembly President Jan Eliasson ( Sweden) said the international community had spent 56 years seeking a lasting solution to the Palestine refugee situation and remained morally obliged to sustain that commitment. Indeed, the refugee population doubled every 20 years and had increased 500 per cent since UNWRA had begun its work. Read more about Twenty countries pledge $73 million for UNRWA 

The General Assembly today wrapped up its annual consideration of the question of Palestine and the situation in the wider Middle East, adopting six traditional resolutions, underscoring, above all, that sustained international involvement was urgently needed to support both the Palestinian and Israeli sides in revitalizing the peace process and towards the speedy resumption of negotiations leading to a final settlement. Convinced that achieving a final and peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine –- the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict –- was the key to stability in the Middle East, the Assembly adopted, by vote of 156 in favour to 6 against, a text stressing the need for Israel’s withdrawal from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. Read more about General Assembly underscores need for international support to revitalize Middle East peace process 

For the fourth consecutive year humanitarian agencies are appealing to donors for funding for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). The unfortunate need for yet another appeal stems from a largely unchanged humanitarian situation. Poverty rates have increased in 2005 compared to 2004, largely because the quality of work is lower and households’ coping mechanisms are increasingly fragile. Until improvements occur the need for humanitarian assistance remains crucial. Cutting back on assistance will put extreme stress on these already-stretched strategies and increase poverty. The total request to donors in 2006 is US$ 215 million down from US$ 302 million in 2005. Read more about UN seeks $215 million in aid for humanitarian aid in Palestine