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| By Associated Press December 10, 2006 |
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A UN fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip that was to be led by Desmond Tutu is in doubt because Israel has yet to grant the Nobel laureate the necessary travel clearance, officials said.
Tutu was to begin leading a six-member team this weekend in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun to investigate the killings of 19 civilians in an Israeli artillery barrage last month.
But Israel has yet to grant the South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town the necessary travel clearance, said three different officials close to the talks between the global body and the Jewish state.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions were continuing, said they had yet to receive any indication from Israel that the mission will take place at all.
Israeli officials in Geneva said they were unable to comment immediately.
Tutu's team was supposed to report its findings to the UN Human Rights Council by mid-December.
The 47-nation council authorized the mission last month, asking Tutu to assess the situation of victims, address the needs of survivors and make recommendations on ways to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli attacks.
The shelling, which Israel said was unintended, came after its troops wound up a week-long incursion meant to curb Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel from the town.
The Israeli army claimed Beit Hanoun was a rocket-launching stronghold.
Tutu chaired South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the end of white rule.
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