UNITED NATIONS -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged Israel and the Palestinians to obey the U.N. Security Council's demand for an immediate cease-fire, declaring that "the whole world" wants to see Israel and a new state of Palestine living as peaceful neighbors.

The council approved a U.S.-sponsored resolution late Tuesday endorsing a Palestinian state for the first time, demanding a cease-fire in the escalating conflict and calling on both sides to resume negotiations on a political settlement. Its adoption broke a 17-month deadlock in the council.