(AgapePress) - The Secretary General of the United Nations is ready to send troops into Palestinian territories to intervene. At the same time, a group of high-profile evangelicals has sent a letter to the White House, calling on President Bush to give his firm support to Israel's war on terrorism.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says it is time for action. He says the situation in the Middle East is so serious that an international force should be sent into occupied territories. The UN chief adds that movement on the proposal should not be put off.

Annan spoke briefly to reports in Geneva today after addressing the UN Human Rights Commission. He says the humanitarian and human rights situation in occupied Palestinian lands is "appalling" -- and that a force should be sent to "create a secure environment" and to "provide space" for negotiations. He did not specify what kind of force he thinks should be sent.

The Palestinians have pushed several times for UN intervention. But Israel has said it would only agree to a limited American mission.

Letter to Bush


The letter from evangelical leaders starts off on a positive note. It commends the president for what it calls his "enlightened leadership ... in the global war against terrorism" and his "moral conviction that terrorism can never be justified no matter the cause or grievance."

But they say it is because of that stand that they write the president with heavy hearts, believing his goals -- or his "doctrine," as they call it -- are in jeopardy because the U.S. is not supporting those principles when it comes to Israel's war on terrorism.

Among the evangelicals to sign off on the letter to Bush were Pastors Jerry Falwell and John Hagee, Marlin Maddoux, founder of the USA Radio Network in Dallas -- and Gary Bauer of American Values. "I would say in the last two weeks, the best defender of the 'Bush Doctrine' has not been Secretary of State [Colin Powell], not the State Department, not unnamed aides in the White House who have been criticizing Israel, [but Israeli Prime Minister] Arial Sharon," Bauer says.

Bauer made his comments Friday morning on Fox News, before today's deadly suicide bombing in Israel. A woman blew herself up at a bus stop in central Jerusalem, killing six and wounding more than 80. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a terrorist group linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, claimed responsibility for the blast. Following that incident, Bauer called for Powell's return from Israel.

"Today's deadly suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem as Colin Powell prepares to negotiate with Yasser Arafat is sadly no surprise," Bauer says in a statement. "The Powell trip was guaranteed to fail. Not one Arab chief of state, nor has Arafat himself, honored the request by Bush to renounce suicide murderers."

He says for two weeks, the U.S. has pressured "our friend Israel and coddled those who hate Jews and hate us." Therefore, he says, Powell should return home now and the U.S. should sever ties with Arafat immediately.