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MADRID, May 4: The European Union said on Saturday it deplored the fact that the United Nations had been forced to call off a fact-finding mission into Israel’s assault on the Jenin refugee camp.
Israel initially supported an international probe to clarify events in Jenin but later decided not to let in the UN mission, which Secretary-General Kofi Annan cancelled on Thursday.
“The EU deplores the fact that following the Israeli government’s announcement of April 30 the (UN) team is unable to go to the region and begin its mission,” Spain’s UN ambassador, Inocencio Arias, told the Security Council on behalf of the EU. Spain currently holds the EU presidency.
“Israel says it has nothing to hide, but in the words of the UN Secretary-General, the long shadow cast by the recent events in the Jenin refugee camp will remain if there is no investigation,” a statement quoted him as saying.
The EU said Israel caused “unprecedented damage” to the Palestinian infrastructure — partially paid for by the EU — and private property that had “no relevance to security” and “can in no way be justified by Israel’s legitimate fight against terrorism”.
Spain also said Arias told the Security Council the 15-nation EU “reserves the right to demand compensation in the appropriate forum”.
The EU called for Israel to give humanitarian organizations free access to the Palestinian territories and comply with UN resolutions demanding a withdrawal from Palestinian territories, the statement said.
EGYPT SEEKS ISRAELI PULLOUT: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said on Saturday Israel must first withdraw from reoccupied Palestinian areas before there can be any discussion of a Middle East peace conference.
Maher was responding to a US announcement of a planned Middle East conference this summer.
“The first step before any talk about any meeting or conference...is the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian land which it occupied in the recent weeks and confirmation of Israel’s commitment not to return under any pretext,” Maher told reporters.
Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Cairo-based Arab League, said in a statement he saw “no urgency in convening such a special conference in light of the clear reluctance of Israel to accept a just, complete and lasting peace”.
Moussa said while Arabs had yet to decide on the US proposal, their main demand was still for Israel’s withdrawal from Palestinian land it had reoccupied.
Maher said any Middle East conference should include Israelis and Palestinians, as well as Lebanon and Syria, both of which do not have peace agreements with Israel.
Egypt and Jordan, which have signed peace deals with the Jewish state, should also attend alongside Saudi Arabia, which proposed a peace plan that was adopted by Arab states at an Arab summit in March. The “quartet” should also be present.
Arab League foreign ministers are due to meet in Cairo next week to follow up on the Saudi-inspired plan which offers Israel normal relations if it withdraws from all occupied Arab land, accepts a Palestinian state and accepts the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
An Arab League official had earlier said the foreign ministers’ meeting would take place next Wednesday. But in his comments on Saturday, Moussa suggested a date had not been finalised.—Reuters
