GENEVA, March 23, 2007 (WAFA) -- The State of Kuwait said Friday Israel was responsible for human rights violations against the Palestinian people.

At the Human Rights Council meeting, member of the Kuwaiti mission in Geneva Sadiq Marafi commended the report of Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) John Dugard, in which he listed the gross Israeli human rights violations against the Palestinian people.

Marafi also noted Israel was responsible for the deterioration of living conditions of the Palestinians.

The Kuwaiti diplomat expressed regret that the High Level Mission to Beit Hanoun could not visit the OPT in accordance with a council's resolution because of Israel's intransigence in accepting legitimate resolutions of the international community.

He called upon the council to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur John Dugard until the end of the occupation, which remained an obstacle in the way of achieving just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

Marafi said the council and the international community were required to discuss with Israel the need to fulfill its international obligations, to cooperate in a serious and comprehensive manner with all UN mechanisms, and to implement legitimate resolutions of the international community.

This, he added, would lead to an improvement of the living conditions of the Palestinian people and would put an end to their human suffering, provide protection, and grant them their legitimate rights, as well as pave the way for establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

He stressed that what encouraged Israel to pursue its acts of violation of international legitimacy, the UN Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the silence of this council and the office of the High Commission for Human Rights over these actions.

A.D (23:20P) (21:20GMT)