United Nations investigators headed for the Middle East on Tuesday, as part of an internal inquiry into the “mishandling” of a videotape that could shed light on how the Lebanese resistance movement, Hizbollah, captured three Israeli soldiers.
UN spokesman Fred Eckhard was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying that UN Undersecretary General Joseph Connor, who is leading the investigation, "expects to finish his work in a couple of weeks." Members of Connor's seven-man team were leaving for the region, Eckhard said, and Connor will make a similar trip within the next two weeks.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has ordered an internal investigation over the videotape, filmed by UN forces the day after the three Israelis were seized by Hizbollah fighters in October.
The 30-minute tape reportedly shows efforts by UN troops to remove two abandoned vehicles and their interception by a group of Hizbollah men.
The UN admitted July 5 it had the videotape after denying its existence for months. UN officials have refused to hand over the unedited tape as Israel has demanded. Annan has offered both Lebanon and Israel the opportunity to view an edited version of the tape, with the faces of presumed Hizbollah members obscured
The Jerusalem Post said that a plea by the families of the abducted soldiers to view an unedited version of the video, announced earlier this week by Ya'acov Avitan, father of Sgt. Adi Avitan, had not been received at UN headquarters, said Eckhard. "There's no record of any request from the families to view the videotape," he said.
The daily said that Jewish demonstrators protesting against the UN's handling of the affair gathered opposite the organization's Manhattan headquarters on Tuesday, carrying signs saying, United Nations: United Against the Jews, and UN: Guilty of Aiding and Abetting Terrorists. - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
