LONDON, March 19, 2007, (WAFA) -Amnesty International called on the new unity government to take immediate steps to end impunity and enhance the protection of human rights in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

In a public statement issued Monday, Amnesty said that the new government should take concrete measures to end the lawlessness and political faction-fighting which has blighted the lives of Palestinians living in these areas, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis to which they have been exposed through Israeli closures and other controls on movement.

The organization made this call in the wake of the attempted abduction of a leading United Nations (UN) official by armed men on 16 March and the kidnapping on 12 March of BBC journalist based in the Gaza Strip.

H.M (21:34 P)-(19:34 GMT)