[There are] daily acts of discrimination, inequality, humiliation, and the powerlessness of occupation. This has been intensified by the conflict, intensified by the excessive use of force

UN commissioner Mary Robinson

Mrs Robinson, who visited the region earlier this month, described the situation as bleak, and accused the Israelis of using excessive force.

In a report to the UN General Assembly, she urged both the Israeli security forces and the Palestinians to spare civilian lives and renew efforts to halt the violence, which has killed around 280 people over the past two months - most of them Palestinians.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Yaakov Levy, has questioned the usefulness of deploying international monitors and disputed many of the report's findings.

He said Israeli forces were not retaliating against stone-throwing youths, as the report implied, but against gunfire and bombs.

Settlement building

Mrs Robinson also called for a halt to the construction of new Israeli settlements on occupied territory.

She said she had felt the need to record her surprise and shock after seeing the expansion work of a settlement in southern Gaza during her visit.

Israel was accused of using excessive force

In general, the report said the economic effects of the sealing-off of the Palestinian territories had been "devastating", as Palestinians have also lost access to jobs because of Israeli security measures.

At a news conference Mrs Robinson described "daily acts of discrimination, inequality, humiliation and powerlessness of occupation" which she said had been intensified by the conflict.

"The civilian population feels besieged by a stronger power prepared to use its superior force against demonstrations and stone-throwing by adolescents," she said.

In her report, she called for Israeli defence forces to "withdraw from some of their forward positions" and lower their military profile generally in the territories, which she said could help break the cycle of violence.

She added that Israel had rejected so far the idea of an international monitoring or protection presence in the region.