Israel rejects criticism by U.N.'s Robinson

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israel has rejected a report by U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson accusing Israeli security forces of using "excessive force" against Palestinians during two months of unrest.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Tuesday that Robinson's report, issued in Geneva on Monday, "contains problematic elements that are unacceptable to us."

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Robinson accused Israeli soldiers of using excessive force in clashes with Palestinians in a wave of violence in which 283 people, most of them Palestinian and many of them teenagers, have been killed.

"The Israel Defence Forces are only responding to violence...while exerting maximum restraint and self-control for the purpose of minimising the number of civilian casualties whenever possible," the ministry said.

Robinson based her report on a recent trip to Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Senior Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, shunned the former Irish president during her visit after she cancelled meetings with right-wing Israeli politicians at the request of Palestinian officials.

The ministry said calls by Robinson for the dismantling of Jewish settlements near heavily populated Palestinian areas ignored the fact that, under interim peace deals, settlements were to be discussed in negotiations on a final peace treaty.

"This is on the political agenda. Israel showed its complete readiness to discuss this matter during the Camp David summit (in July). However, the Palestinian leadership chose violence instead of fully utilising negotiations," the ministry said.

The ministry also rejected Robinson's calls for the deployment of international monitors in Palestinian areas, saying Israel "is opposed to any international force before an agreement is reached.''

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