Embassy of Israel Briefing
May 1, 2002

The Israeli Cabinet Decision regarding the UN Fact Finding Team

1. The Battle in Jenin
   1. Israel has nothing to hide with regard to its battle against terrorists in the Jenin refugee camp, or the provision of humanitarian aid to the civilian population.
   2. During the battle, Israel suffered many casualties in order to avoid harming Palestinian civilians, choosing to move carefully from house to house rather than relying on firepower, as other armies would.
   3. Throughout the fighting, Israel provided as much aid as possible to the civilian population. Sadly, much of the aid was refused, offers to admit ambulances were rebuffed, and even Israeli blood donations were rejected.
   4. Although Israel did not choose this battle, it is proud of the way it fought. In Jenin, Israel defeated the terrorists, minimized harm to the innocent and defended the lives of its citizens.

2. The Campaign to Deliberately Smear Israel
   1. It is abundantly clear that there is a lack of good faith on the part of the Palestinians regarding the accurate portrayal of the recent events in the Jenin refugee camp.
   2. Accusations of an alleged 'massacre' of hundreds of civilians have been propagated by official PA spokesmen, as well as charges regarding the alleged denial of vital humanitarian assistance.
   3. Furthermore, the material facts - such as the number of Palestinian killed and the extent of structural damage to the area - have been manipulated.
   4. It now appears (30 Apr.) that while around 50-60 armed terrorists were killed in the battle, 7 or 8 civilians were also killed - a far cry from the hundreds that were claimed to have been massacred. In addition, there is absolutely no indication of starvation or any other humanitarian atrocities.
   5. Under these conditions, Israel must be extremely careful to safeguard its soldiers and citizens from the overwhelming influence upon the international community of the Palestinian propaganda onslaught. Israel must ensure that the Palestinian blood libel doesn't gain even the slightest credibility.

3. The Double Standard
   Israel deeply regrets the loss of innocent lives which resulted from its battle against terrorists shielding themselves behind the civilian population. However, it must be recalled that in one terrorist atrocity alone, the March 27 Passover Eve Massacre in Netanya (which was perpetrated by terrorists operating from the Jenin refugee camp), 28 innocent Israelis were murdered and 140 injured. Israelis ask why the international community is so insistent on investigating the malicious fabrication of an 'massacre' of Palestinian civilians in Jenin by Israeli soldiers, while no such demand was heard to investigate the very real massacres of Israeli civilians by Palestinian terrorists.

4. The UN Fact Finding Team
   1. On 19 April, UN Security Council Resolution 1405 welcomed "the initiative of the Secretary-General to develop accurate information regarding recent events in the Jenin refugee camp through a fact-finding team." That same day, Israel announced that it would cooperate fully with the Secretary General's fact-finding effort, provide all the necessary information and remove any impediment to visiting the site or meeting with the inhabitants during the fact-finding process.
   2. After careful consideration of the issue, the Israeli Cabinet decided today that, unfortunately, the conditions are not yet ripe for the arrival of the UN fact-finding team. Prior to its arrival, Israel wishes to clarify a number of points regarding the team's methodology, in order to safeguard the impartiality of its work:
      • Preserving 'cause and effect': The team was established in order to gather information about the recent events in Jenin. This mandate must clearly include the Palestinian terrorism in the camp that created the necessity for Israel's military actions there.
      • Preserving legal consistency: While the team has been instructed to bear in mind the applicability of humanitarian international law. Two further legal foundations, the right to self-defense, and the right
      • Iindeed the obligation - to combat terrorism, cannot be ignored.
      • Preserving the Security Council definition: Resolution 1405 welcomed an initiative described as a 'fact-finding' team. Such a team should concentrate on finding the facts. Submitting 'observations' or drawing 'conclusions' is beyond team's mandate.
      • Preserving civil rights: The rules of the team regarding the gathering of information from individuals must safeguard their identity and rights. The civil rights of these individuals must be respected, as has been the practice of other UN fact-finding efforts in the past. Israel cannot be expected to expose its citizens to a violation of their rights.
      • Confidentiality of Secret Information: While Israel has every intention of sharing information with the team, the team must understand that in the war on terrorism, some information must remain classified. It would be unreasonable to expect of any country to expose all of its security and operational secrets upon demand. This would constitute a clear violation of Israel's sovereignty.
   3. Israel immediately agreed to respect UNSCR 1405, due to its high regard for the UN Secretary General. Unfortunately, it soon became clear to Israel that certain parties seek to assign elements to Resolution 1405 which it does not contain. The raison d'?tre for the establishment of the team was to clarify the question of the alleged 'massacre'. After the team was decided upon, it became abundantly clear that no such 'massacre' actually took place. The circumstances having substantially changed, certain elements attempted to alter the direction of the fact-finding effort to realms unconnected to the establishment of the team.
   4. Israel's readiness to cooperate with the fact-finding team still stands. However, in view of Israel's problematic experience in the United Nations arena in the past, and in light of the difficulties being faced in the handling of the Jenin fact-finding team at present, there is a reasonable basis to expect that the team's modalities be concluded with Israel prior to its arrival.click here to read Foreign Minister Peres' statement on the Jenin Fact-Finding Team

    

Sincerely,
Moshe Fox
Minister for Public Affairs
Embassy of Israel, Washington D.C.