Israel condemns 'poison' remarks 

April 27, 2004
BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3662031.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3662031.stm 

Israel has made a formal protest to the United Nations about comments by its special envoy in Iraq. 
Lakhdar Brahimi last week described Israeli policy towards the Palestinians as a big poison in the Middle East. 
In a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Israeli ambassador Dan Gillerman said the comments were highly inappropriate. 
The UN has distanced itself from Mr Brahimi's comments, saying he was expressing a personal view. 
Mr Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister who is currently advising on a new government in Iraq, said last Wednesday that his job was being made more difficult by Israel's violent and repressive security policy and its determination to occupy more and more Palestinian territory. 
He told a French radio station that people's perception in the region was of the injustice of Israeli policy compounded by the thoughtless support of the US. 
He later stood by his comments. 
On Saturday, after meeting French President Jacques Chirac in Paris, Mr Brahimi said: What I said was that Israel's policies, not Israel itself, were a poison for the region, and that is the view of everybody in the region and beyond. That is a fact, not an opinion. 
'Vitriolic and biased' 
In his letter to Mr Annan, Mr Gillerman said: It is highly inappropriate for a senior UN official to attack member states in such an unjust manner, especially using unbalanced, caustic language. 
Doing so, especially in such a vitriolic and biased manner, heightens concerns that have been raised about the UN's own impartiality and objectivity. 
This is particularly true in this case given that Israel's situation is not a part of Mr Brahimi's responsibilities, and it is improper for him to use the stature provided by his UN office to vent his personal opinions. 
Israel requests that you alert Mr Brahimi of his misconduct, and ensure that in the future UN officials meet the requirements of professionalism and impartiality expected of them by the UN Charter and the international community.