Mid-East 'spiralling out of control' - Cowen

Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen has described the situation in the Middle East as "disastrous".

Speaking after a meeting with EU External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten, he said violence in the region is spiralling out of the control.

Mr Patten said the situation has gone from bad to worse to calamitous, and now to a bloody feud.

In a clear warning to the Israeli government, which has kept Yasser Arafat under virtual house arrest for two months, he also said it would be foolish for anybody to think they could pick or choose their own preferred Palestinian leader.

Both Mr Cowen and Mr Patten agreed that a solution cannot be imposed on either the Israelis or the Palestinians, but they said a ceasefire and dialogue must take precedence because the only alternative to the Palestinian Authority is anarchy.