Annan Grants Israel's Request to Delay Arrival of U.N. Investigators
By Colum Lynch
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, April 27, 2002; Page A12
UNITED NATIONS, April 26 – U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan today agreed to a 24-hour delay, requested by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in the arrival of a fact-finding team to probe allegations of atrocities by Israeli forces during their siege of the Jenin refugee camp.
The decision came moments after Israel's U.N. ambassador, Yehuda Lancry, told the United Nations that there was a broad consensus in the Israeli government to cooperate with the team but that Sharon needed to wait until after the Sabbath to obtain approval from Israel's cabinet.
Although Lancry provided no ironclad assurances that Israel would ultimately agree to cooperate with the U.N. team, which is to be headed by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, U.N. officials said that Lancry was sufficiently upbeat about the progress achieved during two days of Israeli talks with the United Nations to warrant the brief delay.
"The U.N. has been informed that the Israeli cabinet will take a formal decision on the matter on Sunday morning," according to a statement issued by Annan's office. "The Foreign Minister has requested that due to the Israeli Sabbath, the team arrive on Sunday."
The assault on Jenin marked the bloodiest phase of Israel's three-week-long military offensive in the West Bank, killing 23 Israeli soldiers and a larger, but unknown, number of Palestinian combatants and civilians.
The Israeli offensive fueled allegations by Palestinian officials that Israel had killed hundreds of Palestinians and carried out massacres. Israel has denied the charges, saying that no more than 50 Palestinians, primarily combatants, were killed during the two-week siege of Jenin.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told Annan a week ago that Israel "has nothing to hide" and would welcome an inquiry into Jenin by a representative of the U.N. chief. But the Israeli government reversed itself on Tuesday, charging that three people named by Annan to lead a team of 20 specialists lacked sufficient expertise in military and counterterrorism matters to conduct a fair inquiry.
In particular, Israel expressed concern that two senior members of the team, Cornelio Sommaruga, the former president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Sadako Ogata, a former U.N. high commissioner for refugees, had humanitarian backgrounds, making them more sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian refugees. Israel sought assurances that the mission would investigate the use of Jenin as a staging ground for Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israel.
Earlier today, Annan rebuffed another appeal by Sharon to postpone the visit while the Israeli delegation sought assurances that the U.N. probe would not expose Israeli generals to future war crimes charges. "I don't think there's any reason for further delay," Annan said. "I do expect them to leave tomorrow."
Annan agreed to delay the visit after meeting with John D. Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell spoke by telephone with Annan and Sharon in an attempt to avert an impasse over the inquiry.
U.S. officials said that the United Nations assured Israel that evidence collected by the U.N. inquiry would not be used in a future "legal proceeding." The officials also said that the United Nations addressed Israeli demands that the mission have a stronger military and counterterrorism component by adding four military and police specialists to the mission.
"We look forward to Israel and the United Nations working this out as soon as possible, resolving these issues, so that the team can go," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
The decision to postpone the visit halted a Palestinian effort to introduce a draft Security Council resolution demanding that Israel welcome the team and end its siege of Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat's headquarters and the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, where Palestinian militants and civilians have sought refuge. The United States threatened to veto a similar resolution.
Israel's congressional allies sought to pressure Annan into meeting Israel's demands. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) appealed to Annan in a letter not to name Israeli military officers who participated in the Jenin operation or to publish a formal report on the inquiry. They also asked Annan to investigate the role of Jenin as an epicenter for Palestinian terrorists.
"The team should go to Jenin and dig for facts, but it should not present conclusions nor recommendations for a course of action," they wrote. "Under no circumstances can the findings of this fact-finding team form the basis for any future legal proceedings."
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
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