NEW YORK, December 12, 2006, (WAFA)-United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, called Tuesday for a "new and urgent push for peace" in the Middle East from all sides, including the international community, lest the people of the region be consigned to new depths of suffering and grief.

Briefing the Security Council on the region, Annan said that the Middle East was in "profound crisis," and the situation is now more complex, more fragile and more dangerous than it has been for a very long time with mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians reaching "new heights."

"Tensions in the region are near the breaking point… Extremism and populism are leaving less political space for moderates, including those States that have reached peace agreements with Israel… The opportunity for negotiating a two-State solution will last for only so long," Annan warned.

Annan also called for changes in mindset by both Israelis and Palestinians and more effort by the diplomatic Quartet - the UN, the United States, Russian Federation and European Union, which is seeking a two-State solution, known as the Road Map, for Israel and Palestine to live side-by-side in peace.

"The parties themselves, at various times and through various diplomatic channels, have come close to bridging almost all of the gaps between them. There is every reason for the parties to try again, with principled, concerted help from the international community. We need a new and urgent push for peace," he said.

The Secretary General stated that the Road Map, which was endorsed by the Council in resolution 1515, should still be the "reference point" around which any effort to reenergize a political effort should be concentrated, but said the Quartet - which sponsored the plan, should also be "open to new ideas and initiatives."

"The Quartet needs to do more to restore faith not only in its own seriousness and effectiveness, but also in the Roadmap's practicability and to create the conditions for resuming a viable peace process," Annan said.

"It needs to find a way to institutionalize its consultations with the relevant regional partners. It needs to engage the parties directly in its deliberations. The time has come for the Quartet to be clearer at the outset on the parameters of an end-game deal," Annan concluded.

H.M. (21:56 P) (19:56 GMT)