intifadah and proceeding with their plans for Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, are inexorably leading to the possibility of a catastro#Ie in the region . The latest spiral of violence against the Palestinian people undetlines yet again the urgent need for the resumption of the peace process in a meaningful way, and the Council would have to take account of its tesponSibil.itieS in this regard. The first step would obviously be to protect the defanceless Palestinian FPUlatiOn from the brutal and continuing assaults by the Israeli authorities. The United Nations must act resolutely now to u*old the application of the PrOviSiOnS of the Fburth Geneva Convention relating to the Protection of Civilian PerSonS in Time of War, of 1949. The Secretary-General’s report of 21 January 1988 (S/19443) if3 a milestone in this regard and needs to be reconsidered seriously to ensure the protection of the PaleStlnian civiiiana under rsraeii occup3rion. in this wnnection we also support the proposals recently made by Chair man Yaoser Arafat , including the deputation of an international force to the WI5 S/W. 292 6 7 (Mr. Ahmed, Pak istan) occupied territories to protect the Palestinian population and the designation by the %nXrity Council of a special and permanent envoy to work full time on the peace process. The proposal for an international force to protect the Palestinians in the occupied territories has also been endorsed at the recent summit meeting of the Arab sta~7 at Baghdad. A related aspect is the urgent need to stop Jewish settler immigration to the occupied Pales tin ian territories. According to The Wall Street Journal of 24 tiY, while the Palestinians were recently protesting the brtltal murders a Conunittee of the Knessset was voting for more than $17 million for road-building and Jewish 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the political situation in the Middle East, specifically the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. It highlights the need for the United Nations to take action to protect the Palestinian population and promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The text mentions specific proposals, such as the deployment of an international force and the designation of a special envoy, to achieve this goal.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, International relations