UN to hush up report on Israel conduct?

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:40:34 GMT

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon may not release the findings of a report he ordered into the Israeli war on Gaza, Press TV has learned.

In Thursday, a spokesperson for Ban cast doubt on whether a report ordered into the three weeks of Israeli military operations in Gaza was meant for public use.

"No. As I said, (the secretary general) is going to first examine the report and decide what to do about it then. This is a report directed to him," said spokeswoman Michele Montas, answering a question posed by a Press TV correspondent.

She also denied knowledge of whether the secretary-general had committed himself to publicizing an executive summary of the report. "I do not know at this point. I can not answer that question. As I said, I will be able to answer it once" he has read it.

The international body had previously promised to help in ending the humanitarian crisis caused in the Gaza Strip by Israeli raids in late 2008 and early 2009.

Over 1,350 Palestinians were killed in the operations -- most of them civilians.

UN shelters -- swarmed with refugees -- were also targeted three times during the attacks, prompting the body to commission the report.

Political experts have linked the possible deferment to the secretary-general's disinclination to go against Tel Aviv and the UN members favoring the continuation of the sixty years of Israeli occupation.

Wednesday, hot on the heels of the inauguration of the new Israeli government, Ban issued a statement and welcomed the far-right incoming echelons despite their hawkish rhetoric and plans to end all prospects of peace for the Palestinians.

"The secretary general welcomes the formation of a new government in Israel and looks forward to working with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the full range of peace and security issues in the region," Montas said.

The developments come amid the member states' complaints of the intangible outcome of the UN Security Council's meetings convened on the so-called Middle East peace process.

At a meeting of the delegates at the UN headquarters in New York, Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe said "despite international engagement and support, very little concrete progress has been made on key issues outlined in Security Council Resolution 1860" aimed at realizing an "endurable" peace in the region.