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Dr. Aaron Lerner is co-founder of , Independent Media Review and Analysis, an Israel-based news organization which provides an extensive digest of media, polls and significant interviews and events relating to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
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By Dr. Aaron Lerner
July 5, 2001
While Yossi Beilin and some of the other Oslo diehards have come out in support of the placement of observers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, this afternoon we learned once again just how ridiculous it is to think that observers will treat the Jewish State fairly.
For the last nine months Israel has been trying to piece together any shred of information it can get its hands on that might shed some light on the capture of three Israeli soldiers nine months ago on the Lebanese border by Hizbullah forces.
Time and again Israeli officials appealed to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to help. After considerable pressure, a visibly uncomfortable Annan even met with the families of the soldiers.
Well now we know why United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan could barely look the families in the eye. While the UN denied it for months, they finally admit that they have a videotape of the vehicles that were used in the kidnapping. And they still haven't shared it with us. And who knows what else they knew about the kidnapping that occurred under their noses?
For MONTHS we have been asking for the tape - that if supplied at the time of the kidnapping might have made a crucial difference - but the UN DENIED the tape existed. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said today that Annan has apologized to Israel and apparently did not know the video existed. No-win situation for Kofi Annan: he has known for months that we wanted the tape and he claims he didn't know his people were lying about it. So either he is not telling the truth NOW, or all this time when he said he was doing everything he could to get information about the kidnapping he wasn't even making an effort within his OWN organization.
Israel Radio reported that Peres said the apparent reason for the UN withholding release of the video was because UN personnel did not want to get involved in the conflict between Israel and Hizbullah. But THAT WAS THEIR JOB!!!
That VERY SAME explanation could be used to excuse observers who refuse to report on Palestinian violations - they just "don't want to get involved."
The UN simply is not a reliable player.
Last week UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen bashed Israel, claiming that Israel is blocking the transfer of medicines to the territories. What was the problem? As Regional Cooperation Minister Tzipi Livni complained to UN representatives, the medicines are not being transferred due to the UN's refusal to allow their trucks to undergo security inspections while at the same time insisting that UN trucks be used.
These people, who are anything but neutral, are bashing us for trying to defend ourselves. Bring the UN or other so-called "neutral" observers and the botch job we have already seen in the North and with UNRWA will be repeated a hundred fold.
Views expressed by the author do not
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