UN report blames the US for Middle East failuresTop UN official in Israel has warned that US pressure has "pummelled into submission" the UN's role as an impartial Middle East negotiator. The "End of Mission Report" by Alvaro de Soto, the UN's envoy for Middle East, dated May 5, 2007, tells of an account of diplomacy that has failed terribly and condemns the sweeping boycott of the Palestinian government. The revelations come after another day of violence in Gaza, when at least 26 Palestinians were killed after Hamas fighters launched an assault. Palestinian President warned he was facing an attempted coup. Mr de Soto condemns Israel for setting unachievable preconditions for talks and the Palestinians for their violence. Western-led peace negotiations have become largely irrelevant, he says. According to Mr Soto, the international boycott of the Palestinians, introduced after Hamas won elections last year, was "at best extremely short-sighted" and had "devastating consequences". To him, the Middle East negotiators - the US, the EU, Russia and the UN - has become a "side-show"
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