The United Nations Security Council is to meet in order to discuss Israel's refusal to allow a UN mission to investigate recent events in the Palestinian refugee camp at Jenin.
The closed-door meeting is planned for 2030 GMT, a UN official told AFP.
The security council had made clear at the close of its meeting Friday that if Israel refused to allow the mission in, it would convene an emergency session.
The Israeli cabinet on Sunday withheld cooperation with the UN fact-finding mission into the devastation at the refugee camp, saying its terms still needed to be defined, government officials said in Jerusalem.
The decision came after a marathon cabinet meeting to discuss whether to give the green light to the UN mission and despite Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's proposal of a 24-hour delay on any decision.
After a lengthy debate, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Cabinet declared that the makeup and the procedures set down for the Jenin inquiry were unacceptable. The team had been scheduled to arrive Sunday after several delays.
Palestinian Cabinet minister Hassan Asfour said the United Nations should "not to comply with the Israeli stalling tactics and to send the fact-finding team to the occupied Palestinian territories promptly."
"We are continuing talks with the UN," Israel’s government spokesman Avi Pazner said. "There has been some progress but not enough to allow the mission to get here."
Arnon Perlman, a spokesman for Sharon, said Foreign Minister Shimon Peres spoke to the head of the team and "informed him that the arrival of the committee will be delayed until further clarifications about current issues." Perlman also said that Sharon has been invited to Washington next week for talks with President Bush.
Meanwhile, Israel approved a U.S. proposal aimed at ending the month-old siege of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat also accepted this proposal, senior Palestinian official Nabil Abu Rudeineh said Sunday night.
"We expect the siege imposed on President Arafat's office to be lifted the day after tomorrow," said Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo.
The U.S. plan for Arafat's Ramallah compound calls for U.S. and British personnel to guard six Palestinians wanted by Israel. In turn, Arafat would be allowed to leave his compound and move freely in the Palestinian areas of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, U.S. and Israeli officials said.
President Bush hailed the Israeli government's embrace Sunday of his proposal. "The president views the vote of the Israeli Cabinet as helpful and constructive," the White House said in a statement. "The next move is up to Yasser Arafat."
Mohammed Dahlan, a senior Palestinian security chief, said the U.S. plan had not been formally presented to the Palestinians. He noted that the Palestinians are opposed to "turning our prisoners over to the Israelis or allowing them to be imprisoned outside the Palestinian territories."
It was not clear exactly where the six wanted Palestinian men would be imprisoned, but sources said it would be somewhere in the Palestinian territories. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
