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Israeli Delegation Heads to UN With Concerns Over Investigation

Aired April 24, 2002 - 12:31   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: An Israeli delegation is heading to New York to try to resolve concerns about the United Nations team investigating the siege at the Jenin refugee camp. Yesterday, Israel said it would no longer cooperate with that probe.

Our senior United Nations correspondent, Richard Roth, joins us from New York with more -- Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is either going to be just a minor flap or it may turn into much more of a deadlock. It is too soon to say.

The fact-finding mission team has met today in Geneva. The UN says they are still planning to go to the Middle East this Saturday. There has been a brief postponement agreed to by the United Nations with Israel, which yesterday announced it would suspend cooperation with the team, saying it was not balanced and was biased against Israel.

A UN spokesman, a short time ago, confirmed that Israel is coming here with at least three representatives to talk with UN officials tomorrow. Secretary General Annan will not be present at these meetings. A UN undersecretary general will chair the talks. The spokesman called it a one-shot deal.

And when I asked about the prospect of Israel still refusing to cooperate after the talks, Fred Eckhard, the UN spokesman, said about the Jenin investigation panel: "Why be so gloomy? Getting the Israelis and Palestinians to agree on anything is not easy. But we would like them to both agree. And this is going to be a fair and impartial study."

This panel, led by a former president of Finland, is to investigate what happened in a Jenin refugee camp. They are backed by a mandate from the UN Security Council. The Palestinians say it was a massacre and a war crime. Israel says they were hunting entrenched terrorists and that it was certainly not a massacre.

For the secretary general, he is not backing down on the composition of his team. Annan says he may agree to have other people added, but he is saying he is sticking with his nominations. There are objections from Israel, particularly about the former head of the International Red Cross, Cornelio Sommaruga. He has, in the past, jousted with Israel. The state of Israel has been refused entry, formal entry into the International Red Cross Society.

Israel wants to use its own star of David markings on vehicles. And, as such, the panel has refused that. And there have been some contentious words regarding that. Yet Annan says this is still an a impartial study. Another panel member is the former UN high commissioner for refugees, Sadako Ogata -- her experience, of course, in the world of refugees -- certainly a lot of Palestinian refugees there. Israel says it is not a panel that is going to be fair -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Isn't another concern -- is this valid to say that Israel may be concerned that this investigation may go outside of Jenin, Richard?

ROTH: That is also another concern. Secretary General Annan says, "We'll see where the facts lead." Israel did not like that talk. One former Israeli foreign minister told me yesterday he was assured by Annan the investigation would only go to Jenin. But that it is still an open question. And that is also a concern of the state of Israel.

PHILLIPS: Richard Roth, thank you so much.

After his recent return from the Middle East, Secretary of State Colin Powell testified today on Capitol Hill.

CNN's Andrea Koppel listened to what Powell reported on in the Mideast crisis. She is going to give us an update -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon.

This was the first public testimony by Secretary Powell since he returned from his 10-day Middle East trip. As you might imagine, most of the questions -- this was before the Senate Foreign Appropriations Committee -- most of the questions had to do with Secretary Powell's mission to the Middle East.

In particular, under questioning by Senator Arlen Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, he was asked about just what Richard Roth was alluding to about what happened in Jenin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R), PENNSYLVANIA: What you are in effect saying is, there are no mass graves. There are people killed.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: I can't -- I am saying that I have seen no evidence of such a mass grave. Since I am not there and since I have not conducted an investigation, I can't tell you what might be there. But, right now, I've seen no evidence of mass graves. And I have seen no evidence -- I've seen no evidence that would suggest a massacre took place.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KOPPEL: Just what happened in the Jenin refugee camp during the Israeli military occupation there is one of the hottest subjects right now before the international community.

In particular, Israel has said and made very clear that its military incursion there was meant directly to root out terrorist infrastructure. And Israel maintains that those that were killed there were terrorists, and, if there were any civilians killed, that this was certainly not the Israeli government's intention.

On the other side of the matter, Palestinians and others in the international community have said that the Israeli continued occupation for several weeks of the Jenin refugee camp prevented humanitarian workers from getting inside there to try to help, perhaps, some of those civilians who may have been trapped under the mounds of rubble that existed following Israel's military incursion there.

It is something, Kyra, that you know that is now before the United Nations, Kofi Annan pushing for this, what he calls an independent committee to go in to Israel. As of the moment, the Bush administration is not taking a very strong public opinion as to whether or not this mission should go forward immediately, other than to say that they think that such an investigation is important -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Andrea Koppel, thank you.

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