Late last night, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced that Israel would not cooperate with the United Nations fact-finding team being dispatched to investigate what happened during Israel’s recent anti-terror operation in Jenin. Sharon explained that Israel changed its mind about the proposed UN mission because UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan altered the mission’s objectives without consulting Israel. The UN originally said that the goal of sending representatives to Jenin would be to investigate what happened during the Israeli offensive.
An Israeli official said that the UN now has ulterior motives for carrying out the mission; including inspecting other PLO areas and eventually dispatching international observers to Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza), a move Israel rejects. In addition, intelligence information shows that the UN scheme is to ultimately send Israel to the International Court of Justice in Hague over the Jenin affair.
Israel also said that it objects to the composition of the Jenin team selected by Annan. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Lancry explained that Israel is seeking a more balanced team that would include military and anti-terror experts.
The group currently includes, former president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Cross Cornelio Sommaruga, former UN high commissioner for refugees, Sadako Ogata, and former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. A late add on to the staff is US Army General William Nash. Israel was pleased by the addition of Nash, since Israel believes that he will recognize that Jenin was a battle between IDF troops and Arab gunmen, and not as the PLO propaganda machine suggests, a “massacre” carried out by Israeli soldiers.
In other UN related news, the UN Security Council yesterday announced that it is very concerned for Yasser Arafat’s well being as a result of the ongoing IDF presence around his Mukata headquarters in Ramallah and Israel’s imposed isolation on the PLO leader. The UN however did not express concern that over a dozen hand grenades were found in Arafat’s compound. IDF soldiers confiscated the grenades and successfully diffused them.
An Israeli official said that the UN now has ulterior motives for carrying out the mission; including inspecting other PLO areas and eventually dispatching international observers to Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza), a move Israel rejects. In addition, intelligence information shows that the UN scheme is to ultimately send Israel to the International Court of Justice in Hague over the Jenin affair.
Israel also said that it objects to the composition of the Jenin team selected by Annan. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Lancry explained that Israel is seeking a more balanced team that would include military and anti-terror experts.
The group currently includes, former president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Cross Cornelio Sommaruga, former UN high commissioner for refugees, Sadako Ogata, and former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari. A late add on to the staff is US Army General William Nash. Israel was pleased by the addition of Nash, since Israel believes that he will recognize that Jenin was a battle between IDF troops and Arab gunmen, and not as the PLO propaganda machine suggests, a “massacre” carried out by Israeli soldiers.
In other UN related news, the UN Security Council yesterday announced that it is very concerned for Yasser Arafat’s well being as a result of the ongoing IDF presence around his Mukata headquarters in Ramallah and Israel’s imposed isolation on the PLO leader. The UN however did not express concern that over a dozen hand grenades were found in Arafat’s compound. IDF soldiers confiscated the grenades and successfully diffused them.