United Nations

  NEW YORK, 11 October (UN Headquarters) -- Following is the text of a statement issued tonight by the Office of the Spokesman of Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

 The Secretary-General announced tonight that Palestinian and Israeli officials have assured him that a meeting is being convened at the highest level of a trilateral security committee to deal with current unrest.  This meeting will take place at the earliest date, possibly Thursday, 12 October.

 This committee, which was set up as a result of the Wye River Accords in 1998, is made up of senior security officials of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United States (chair).  It apparently has not before met at its highest level.

 This agreement comes as a result of the intense contacts the Secretary-General has had over the past 48 hours with Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, and Palestinian Authority President, Yasser Arafat, and concerned heads of State and Government.

 The Secretary-General feels this is an important step towards the cessation of violence which he hopes, in turn, will lead to a resumption of the peace process.