HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
Inquiry delay 'unacceptable' says EU May 1 2002 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/30/1019441375578.html Israel's refusal to cooperate with a United Nations fact-finding mission investigating Israeli army action against Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp is "unacceptable", European Commission President Romano Prodi said yesterday. "If the Israeli army has nothing to hide, there is no reason to delay the UN mission," Prodi told a news conference. This was a "chance" for Israel to show the world that Palestinian allegations that Israeli soldiers killed hundreds of Palestinians in Jenin were untrue, Prodi said. The commission chief who heads for a summit with US President George W Bush in Washington on May 2 said he would urge the American Administration to continue pressing Israel on a complete military pull-out from Palestinian territories. "I am very pleased that the US convinced Israel to end the siege of Ramallah and allow (Palestinian Authority President) Yasser Arafat freedom of movement," Prodi said. "This is a good and constructive step," the commission chief said. But Prodi said he would now ask President Bush to convince Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to fully cooperate with the international community on the Jenin inquiry and allow urgent action to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories. "I am deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation," Prodi insisted, adding that international aid operations were being hampered in West Bank cities because of an absence of clear rules on their operations. "I will ask Bush to call for the full and unhindered access of humanitarian aid" to the Palestinians, Prodi said. Israel's destruction of the basic infrastructure of the Palestinian Authority had created a vacuum which could lead to "chaos and anarchy," the commission president warned. "This is not in Israel's security interest," he cautioned. Renewed American interest in the Middle East was to be encouraged but permanent peace in the region required "international cooperation," Prodi insisted. As such it was vital that the "quartet" group including the US, Europe, the United Nations and Russia continued to work together, Prodi said. A meeting of the Israeli security cabinet - whose members have accused the UN of bias - has ruled out cooperation with the UN team. "Israel presented to the UN several subjects essential to holding a fair probe, but as long as these conditions go unmet, it will be impossible to hold the probe," an Israeli cabinet statement said. Israel says the team should include more military and counter-terrorism experts who can better judge the military aspects of the Israeli army operations in the Jenin refugee camp. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/30/1019441375578.html Copyright © 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald ===== Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace. Weekly peace walks around Lake Merritt in Oakland. Starts & ends at the colonnade between Grand & Lakeshore Avenues, 3 P.M., every Sunday. Info: (510)763-8712, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or http://www.webwm.com/LMNOP __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
