The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gilerman, will send a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Sunday, demanding the removal of Peter Hansen from his position as commissioner-general of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Work Agency).
The letter will stress Israel's claim that Hamas gunners are using UN ambulances to move arms through the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA has dismissed Tel Aviv's allegations.
Israeli representatives plan also to screen a short film with aerial photos taken from an unmanned reconnaissance plane that provides "proof" of the use of UN ambulances for transporting Qassam rockets.
Last Wednesday, Israel claimed it documented two men loading a Qassam rocket onto a van bearing a large UN logo. The photographed images, taken from an unmanned plane in the Jabalya refugee camp, were broadcast on network television on Friday night. After the rocket was loaded, the vehicle left the spot.
Hansen, however, told Haaretz that it is easy to prove that the suspicious looking object in the photo is a stretcher. According to Hansen, the image broadcast on television shows two men approaching two ambulances, one of whom is carrying an object that could not weigh more than a few kilos. He said that he had learned from a simple Google search that a Qassam rocket is 1.80 meters long and weighs 50 kilos.
The photographic image, on the other hand, Hansen explained, reveals an object 5 centimeters wide, while the Qassam has a diameter of 17 centimeters. A piece of cloth, he added, was clearly visible in the photo, which proves it was an ambulance stretcher, and naturally, this is what the ambulance crew were carrying. Hansen added that he is concerned that the unfounded Israeli accusations might lead to incitement, since soldiers who give credence to the Israeli militay statement, may become suspicious of every ambulance that arrives at a checkpoint, putting UNRWA crews in grave danger. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
