Embassy briefing
April 22, 2002

1. The Completion of Operation Defensive Shield
   
   Israel has pulled out of all the Palestinian villages and most of the cities in accordance with the timetable presented by Prime Minister Sharon to complete the withdrawal from the Palestinian cities and towns within a week.
   
   With the exception of the Church of the Nativity compound in Bethlehem and Arafat's Ramallah headquarters, Operation Defensive Shield has been completed, and the goals of the Operation have been accomplished. It is important to remember the context of Operation Defensive Shield: Israel carried out its operations in order to eradicate the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure, following a daily campaign of terrorist attacks and suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. As a result of the Operation, the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure has suffered a severe blow, as reflected in the exposure of many bomb labs, the discovery of a large quantity of arms and ammunition and the arrest of scores of wanted terrorists. In addition, many terrorists were killed in the course of the fighting.
   
   Nevertheless, this does not mean that the terrorist infrastructure has been completely eradicated. Indeed, there are still intelligence warnings of terrorist attacks. Therefore, Israel has continued cordoning off Palestinian cities, in order to prevent such attacks.

2. The Jenin Fact-Finding Team
   
   Israel has nothing to hide regarding any aspect of the Jenin operation. The Jenin refugee camp had been the site of a fierce battle with armed terrorists, who had deliberately shielded themselves behind the civilian population. The IDF reservists had to move cautiously from house to house in confronting the terrorists, doing their utmost to avoid harming innocent civilians. It is important to remember that many IDF reservists were killed in the fighting, and it is perfectly obvious that no massacre took place.
   
   There have been a number of inaccurate media reports on the issue of the dispatch of a fact-finding team to Jenin. To quote directly from Security Council Resolution 1405, the Council "welcomes the initiative of the Secretary-General to develop accurate information regarding recent events in the Jenin refugee camp through a fact-finding team and requests him to keep the Security Council informed."
   
   Notably, the UN Security Council has not called for the establishment of an 'international investigation commission', but, rather, it has called for a professional fact-finding team, in accordance with the proposal of Secretary-General Annan. Israel expects the work of the fact-finding team to be conducted by professional and objective representatives, and not by a political body with its own political agenda.
   
   In his discussion with the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan (April 19), Foreign Minister Shimon Peres offered to provide him with all the information in Israel's possession. Foreign Minister Peres emphasized that Israel would cooperate fully with the Secretary-General's fact-finding team. There will be no impediment to visiting the site or meeting with the inhabitants during the fact-finding process.

Moshe Fox
Minister for Public Affairs
Embassy of Israel, Washington, DC