HAARETZ Last Update: 24/06/2004 00:06 UN: 3,437 Palestinians, 942 Israelis killed since Sept. 2000 By Shlomo Shamir , Haaretz Correspondent The United Nations Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast told the Security Council on Wednesday that 3,437 Palestinians and 942 Israelis have been killed since September 2000. During this same period, 33,770 Palestinians and 6,008 Israelis were wounded, according to a senior UN source. Prendergast's report painted a "gloomy picture" of the Palestinians' situation and was "pessimistic" regarding their expected future. Prendergast said the "situation in the region continues to be tense. The killing of people continues and the Palestinians continue to suffer and this all contributes to an atmosphere of despair and extremism." He added that "the Palestinians' hope for a good future is very poor." Prendergast leveled harsh criticism at Israel and condemned closures on the territories, curfews and what he called illegal executions. Nevertheless, Prendergast noted it is still possible to secure a peace agreement "but what is missing is the readiness of both sides to take the difficult and necessary steps forward." In response to Prendergast's report, the deputy chief of Israel's UN mission Arye Mekel said he regretted that Prendergast "completely ignored the fact that this is a situation of cause and effect. Israel Defense Force operations are an unavoidable result of Palestinian terror." Mekel also noted Prendergast's report ignored the Israel's Gaza disengagement plan which won the praise of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and other senior UN officials. © Copyright 2004 Haaretz. All rights reserved