DATE=4-26-02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=Jenin Mission Delayed (s-o)

NUMBER=2-289152

BYLINE=ELAINE JOHANSON

DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The United Nations has agreed to delay its fact-finding mission to the Middle East by one day, pending formal Israeli approval. The U-N team that will gather information about the Israeli assault on the Jenin refugee camp is expected to arrive in the region on Sunday. V-O-A correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from U-N headquarters in New York:

TEXT: Secretary-General Kofi Annan is said to have been assured by a visiting Israeli delegation in New York that the Israeli cabinet will give the U-N mission a green-light when it meets Sunday. Not everyone in New York is confident. But diplomatic sources say there was little choice but to agree to the delay, since the Israeli cabinet would not meet before Sunday because of the religious observance of the Sabbath.

Meanwhile, the fact-finding team led by former Finnish president Maarti Ahtisaari is biding its time in Geneva, waiting for final word.

The Security Council authorized the mission last week.

The Palestinians accuse Israel of massacring hundreds of people during a three-week assault at the Jenin camp. Israel denies the charge, saying no more than 48 Palestinians died, and they were mostly fighters. (signed)

NEB/NY/EJ/PT