“Well-informed sources” told Saturday Israel’s Haaretz daily that the United Nations has accepted Israel's demand to maintain the confidentiality of those who testify before the UN fact-finding team investigating allegations that the Israeli army carried out a massacre in the Jenin refugee camp.
As a result, those who testify will not be subject to stand trial as a result of the mission's findings.
The UN fact-finding mission, led by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, will arrive in Israel on Sunday. The UN agreed to delay the team's departure by 24 hours after Israel said that the government needed to hold further discussions on the matter, and that this could not be done during the Jewish Sabbath.
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said: "The U.N. has been informed that the Israeli Cabinet will take a formal decision on the matter Sunday morning."
Egypt's U.N. Ambassador Ahmed Aboul Gheit called the postponement "a delay of technical reasons," but he accused the Israelis of "trying to play games."
Arab nations have introduced a new Security Council resolution demanding that Israel and the Palestinians "cooperate fully with the fact-finding team" but they held up acting on it pending Sunday's decision of the Israeli Cabinet.
Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will convene either the cabinet or the entire government Sunday to discuss whether to approve the mission.
Israeli ministers are expected to hear clarifications Sunday regarding the UN mission's mandate. Israel is demanding that the probe deal solely with clarifying the facts, as was determined by the UN Security Council decision, rather than drawing conclusions or making recommendations, especially ones that could result in prosecutions.
Also on Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian teams plan to resume talks to try to end a 24-day-old armed standoff at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, both sides said on Saturday.
No exact time was given for the meeting, but an Israeli spokesman said that talks would be held in the afternoon.
Palestinian negotiator Salah al-Taamari said he got instructions from Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Saturday and had asked the Israelis to resume the talks.
"I got his instructions and I am studying them with members of our delegation and we asked for a meeting with the Israelis with the hope that this meeting will take place very soon, this evening, anytime tonight," he said. He said the army had not yet responded.
Arafat met Saturday with al-Taamari for discussions on how to end the crisis. The meeting was also attended by deputy European Union envoy Alistair Cook.
Taamari declined to specify what instructions Arafat had given but said: "President Arafat has wanted since the beginning to reach a peaceful solution."
Arafat adviser, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said after the meeting with al-Taamari that the Palestinian leader had given no instructions to the Bethlehem lawmaker.
Abu Rudeineh complained that Israel had stopped two senior Palestinian officials from attending the session, which he said showed it was not interested in resolving the church stalemate.
"Today's meeting was supposed to have been attended by [Gaza Strip security chief] Mohammed Dahlan and [chief negotiator] Saeb Erekat, but the Israelis prevented both from taking part," he said.
"Taamari was supposed to take instructions from President Arafat, but he was not given these instructions," he added. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
