The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk expressed his "deep" concern about the increasing risk of a wider conflict in the Middle East, calling on the parties to "take urgent action to defuse this dangerous situation." "I am deeply concerned about the increasing risk of a wider conflict in the Middle East," Turk added in a statement today, calling on influential countries and all parties to take urgent steps to calm the situation in the region. He pointed out that human rights and the protection of civilians "must be a top priority," stressing that civilians, most of whom are women and children, in the region "have suffered unbearable pain and suffering as a result of bombs and armed attacks in the past ten months." He continued: "Everything must be done to prevent this situation from worsening and causing more dire consequences for civilians." Several international organizations have called on the Israeli occupation to stop its aggression on the Gaza Strip, warning of the consequen ces of these conditions on regional security in the entire Middle East. Source: Qatar News Agency