UN misses Israeli side

Editorial

An anonymous official at the Israeli mission to the United Nations (UN) put it best in a Washington Times interview: "Even if Israel had not co-operated at all, it would have been the same report."

The official was referring to the conclusions of a UN board of inquiry into incidents that occurred during Operation Cast Lead around UN facilities. Neither the 184-page report nor its 27-page summary is available on the UN website, although the summary was given to Security Council members, as well as journalists at a May 5 press conference with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

According to the Washington-based Israel Project, the UN report "claimed that the Israel Defence Forces deliberately targeted UN compounds during its defensive operation in Gaza this past January." While it stopped short of accusing Israel of war crimes, it found the government of Israel responsible for the deaths, injuries and physical damage that occurred within the UN premises. The report recommended that the UN pursue Israel for reparations.

In a statement, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said, "The state of Israel rejects the criticism in the board's summary report and determines that, in both spirit and language, the report is tendentious, patently biased and ignores the facts presented to the committee."

It noted, "The Israeli team presented various intelligence materials, including videos, aerial photographs, eyewitness reports and other material. None of this information is reflected in the report." It said, "the report lays no responsibility on the Hamas organization, which placed its installations and dispatched its men to confront the IDF in proximity to the UN installations." It added, "the report completely ignores the eight years of attacks against Israel that preceded the decision to initiate the operation" and concluded, "Israel views the publication of the report's findings as the end of the internal UN inspection process."

In its statement, the MFA quotes from the report summary's cover letter by Ban. In the letter, the secretary general acknowledges Israel's co-operation with the inquiry and says he has no intention of forming another one. He criticizes the firing of Kassam rockets at Israel and rejects the report's recommendation to probe two incidents further. He stresses that the UN inquiry is not authorized to examine legal issues.

It's too early to be hopeful that Ban is trying to inject balance into the UN, especially given three other events last week.

Ostensibly, the objective of the UN International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, held in Cyprus, was "to emphasize the important role played by national parliaments and inter-parliamentary organizations in shaping public opinion, formulating policy guidelines and upholding international legitimacy in support of a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the question of Palestine." There were some 25 speakers, many from Arab countries and the Palestinian territories, some from Western and other countries. There were few speakers from Israel: a member of the Knesset from the Hadash party, a former MK from the Meretz party and a Peace Now representative.

In his written remarks to the conference, Ban said he was very disturbed by the situation in Gaza and he called "on Israel to provide adequate entry of fuel, cash and materials that are urgently needed to repair schools, clinics, sanitation networks and shelters." He gave several accounts of how, in his view, Israel was not honoring its Road Map obligations in the West Bank. But he also mentioned his "deep and abiding concern for the civilians of the Gaza Strip and Israel and their right to live in peace and security, free from the threat of violence and terrorism," and said he supported "efforts to secure the release of [Cpl. Gilad] Shalit in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners."

Also last week, the UN released a report on how Israel has reduced the amount of land available in Bethlehem for Palestinian use, limited access to resources and restricted potential for development. As well, a UN Human Rights Council mission to probe rights violations during the conflict in Gaza held initial meetings. The mission has requested Israel's co-operation, but the government is hesitating, saying the council is biased.

Ultimately, however, Israel has no choice but to co-operate, even if its information is completely disregarded and even if one rightly questions the impact or validity of any report produced by the UN. It's not just because Israel can't afford to become a rogue state. It's not just because of comments like those from Jordan's King Abdullah II, who told the U.K. Times Online, "If we delay our peace negotiations, then there is going to be another conflict between Arabs or Muslims and Israel in the next 12-18 months." It's because co-operation and transparency are the right things to do. It's so that Israel's side of the narrative is heard, if not by the UN, by others.

By negating Israel's voice in such reports, the UN is, in effect, attempting to negate Israel's right to exist; exposing the possibility that the UN does, in fact, have a more nefarious agenda than peace. In return for co-operation, the UN must ensure that Israel's perspective is included in any report published. Another cover letter won't do.

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