UN urges end to Mid-East violence

Included in this are Israeli incursions into the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rocket fire into Israel.

The measure also calls on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to investigate the recent Israeli shelling of Beit Hanoun.

The US, which voted against the text, had vetoed a similar resolution put to the UN Security Council last week.

General Assembly resolutions, unlike those of the Security Council, are not binding and so are largely symbolic.

Some 156 countries, including all the members of the European Union, voted in favour of the measure after a series of amendments were made.

The US, Israel and Australia were among seven nations to oppose it, with six abstentions.

'Significant message'

The vote was held after an emergency special session was called by Qatar, which also proposed the failed Security Council resolution.

"This type of resolution serves only to exacerbate tensions by serving the interests of elements hostile to Israel's inalienable and recognised right to exist"
John Bolton
US ambassador to the UN

Israel's UN ambassador Dan Gillerman criticised the session as a "circus" and questioned why the text made no mention of Hamas.

The resolution equated "terrorism" with "the action taken by Israel in self-defence in fighting terrorism", Israel's deputy UN representative added.

The US ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said the measure was unhelpful.

"Unfortunately this type of resolution serves only to exacerbate tensions by serving the interests of elements hostile to Israel's inalienable and recognised right to exist," he said.

"In doing so, it deepens the suspicions about the United Nations that will lead many to conclude that the organisation is incapable of playing a helpful role in the region."

However, Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour welcomed the General Assembly's support and said the resolution sent a "significant message" to Israel.

Tank shells

Israel's shelling of Beit Hanoun last month, which resulted in the deaths of 19 Palestinians, was widely condemned across Europe and the Middle East.

The Israeli military launched its operation in and around the town in an effort to root out militants firing rockets.

The deaths were caused when what witnesses described as a volley of tank shells hit a built-up civilian area.

Many of the dead were from one extended family, and included several women and children.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert apologised for the attack, describing it as a "technical failure".

Fourteen months ago Israel withdrew its settlers and military bases from the Gaza Strip, which it occupied in 1967.