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. -News for Fri. 19 April & Sat. 20 April 2002


Israel, Palestinians to Cooperate with UN Mission


VOA News
20 Apr 2002 18:59 UTC
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<b>Destruction in Jenin</b>
Destruction in Jenin
Both Israel and the Palestinians have pledged to cooperate with a United Nations mission that will investigate the Israeli assault on the Jenin refugee camp.

 Establishment of the U.N. mission, to be headed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was approved unanimously Friday night by the U.N. Security Council. A spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel welcomes the fact-finding mission, and has nothing to hide. The mission will look into Palestinian allegations of massacre by Israeli troops. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat described the mission as a step in the right direction. He said he hopes the mission will come with the necessary tools to uncover the mass graves in which he charged that Israel had hidden many bodies.
 
 

<b>William Burns</b>
William Burns
Palestinians claim that Israeli forces killed hundreds of people - most of them civilians - during the incursion. Israel says several dozen were killed, and that most of those were militants, not civilians. A top U.S. envoy - Undersecretary of State William Burns - who toured the battered refugee camp Saturday called the devastation there "a terrible human tragedy."

 After his tour, Mr. Burns issued a statement saying what happened in the Jenin camp caused enormous human suffering for thousands of Palestinian civilians. He said he had gone to the camp to convey the deep concern of the United States.

 The U.S. envoy declined to comment on whether he saw evidence of a massacre Palestinians allege was committed in the camp by the Israeli army. Mr. Burns called on Israel to provide full and complete access to the camp by relief agencies.

 The Security Council resolution calls for the lifting of restrictions imposed on relief organizations in hard-hit West Bank areas, where medical help is badly needed. The Security Council also expressed concern over the unknown number of deaths in Jenin.

 The resolution was approved after the United States said it would veto an alternate resolution submitted by Arab governments. The measure that was adopted emphasizes the dire humanitarian conditions of Palestinian civilians.

 Meanwhile, Palestinian gunmen on Saturday killed an Israeli border policeman in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials said the policeman died in an attack by small arms fire and grenades at the Erez crossing point into Israel. One of the attackers was killed by Israeli troops.

 The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a radical wing of Yasser Arafat's Fatah group claimed responsible for the Erez shooting in a telephone call to the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite channel. 

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. 

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