Israeli envoys were to meet UN officials to seek assurances that witnesses to a fact-finding mission into the army's assault on the Jenin refugee camp would be safe from prosecution.
The United Nations meanwhile announced that two military staff officers would be added to the fact-finding team, which Israel had said should be enlarged to include experts on military operations and counter-terrorism.
"We want assurances that the testimony of Israelis cannot be used against them," Israel’s Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told Israeli army radio as the four envoys prepared for their talks with UN political, military and legal officers. Peres said the envoys would also seek a guarantee "that the mission will include an anti-terrorism expert and that this mission will draw no conclusions."
In no case "can Israel be prosecuted before the International Court of Justice at the Hague," Peres said.
Peres also telephoned UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to discuss the talks, Annan's spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said. "I would not want to predict the posture of the Israeli delegation; let's just see what happens when the talks start at four o'clock (2000 GMT)," he added.
According to Eckhard, Annan spoke by video-conference on Thursday to the team members, led by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, who were in Geneva making final preparations for their mission.
It was decided that retired US general William Nash, the team's military adviser, "will be assisted by two general staff officers and more experts will be brought on board as needed," Eckhard was quoted as saying by AFP.
In addition to Nash, the team is advised by Peter Fitzgerald, a senior police officer from Ireland; Tyge Lehmann, a legal adviser for the Danish Government; and Helena Ranta, a forensic expert at the University of Helsinki.
Meanwhile, the military court in Yasser Arafat's office that sentenced four Palestinians for the slaying of an Israeli minister, had little immediate impact on prospects for lifting Israel's siege.
In Washington, a senior US official said the sentencing "appears positive" but the siege of Arafat's headquarters "is something that the parties are going to have work out for themselves."
In another unexpected gesture, the Israeli forces besieging Arafat compound allowed Ramallah city governor and his driver to leave the building, officials inside said.
The Governor, Mustafa Issa, a close associate of Arafat who has often acted as a liaison between Israel and the Palestinian leader, was later released after being searched by troops surrounding the building. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
