The United Nations should intervene in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as it is sliding dangerously towards fully-fledged war, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today.

Abdullah, current chairman of the 117-nation Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) of developing nations, made the call in an opening address to a special meeting of the organisation's Committee on Palestine.

"The grim situation on the ground risks sliding dangerously towards a precipice and full-fledged war," Abdullah said, accusing Israel of repression, violence and "state terrorism".

"I suggest that the United Nations can and must intervene effectively by establishing a UN mission or authorizing an international presence to monitor the situation, ease the tension and maintain peace and security."

Without spelling out details, Abdullah called for "a UN peacekeeping force or an international monitoring mechanism" to ensure that the "roadmap" for peace was implemented.

"The United Nations, notably the Security Council, remains the last hope for the Palestinian people," he said.

Abdullah told a news conference later that with all previous negotiations and agreements "torpedoed and torn to pieces", NAM members currently on the UN Security Council hoped to win a new Security Council resolution for the resumption of peace talks.

Abdullah condemned US President George W Bush's support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, saying it risked derailing the entire peace process.

The plan includes a partial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip but also provides for continued Israeli sovereignty over some West Bank settlement blocs.

Fatal blow

Abdullah said US support for the plan, along with the denial of the right of Palestinian refugees to their former homes in Israel, had dealt "a serious if not fatal blow to the roadmap" for peace.

The "roadmap", drawn up by the diplomatic quartet for the Middle East - the United Nations, United States, Russia and the European Union - calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state by 2005.

But in an interview published in Saturday's edition of the Cairo daily Al-Ahram , Bush cast serious doubt on the target date.

"Well, 2005 may be hard, since 2005 is right around the corner," Bush said. "I think the timetable of 2005 isn't as realistic as it was two years ago."

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar criticised Bush's remarks in a news conference ahead of the meeting, saying "it is not proper for him to prejudge the issue."

The one-day meeting of the 11-member NAM Committee on Palestine has drawn five ministers - from Malaysia, Senegal, Philippines, Zimbabwe and Pakistan - along with Palestine Liberation Organisation political chief Faruq Qaddumi. - AFP