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UN official: Israel should probe shelling which damaged UN buildings in Gaza
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent, and Reuters
Tags: Gaza, UN, Ban Ki-moon 

The United Nations' humanitarian chief has begun a tour of the Gaza Strip to examine the extent of the devastation left behind by a three-week Israeli offensive.

John Holmes says the number of casualties is "extremely shocking." He also wants Israel to conduct a thorough investigation into shelling attacks that damaged UN buildings in Gaza.

Holmes says he's thinking about immediate humanitarian needs and longer-term reconstruction. He says the biggest concerns are providing clean water, sanitation, electricity and shelter.
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Holmes says Gaza's border crossings will have to be opened to allow reconstruction materials into the area.

Israel and Egypt have kept the crossings largely closed since Hamas militants seized power of Gaza in 2007. Hamas wants the borders opened as part of any long-term cease-fire.

UN seeks explanation from Israel over attacks on Gaza schools

The UN Security Council is likely to release a statement on Wednesday demanding Israel provide urgently an explanation of attacks on UN facilities in Gaza.

The statement comes after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the council he expected Israel to provide a full explanation, and that those responsible must be held accountable.

A diplomat who attended the brief said "the Secretary-General's address was harsh and grim."

Reporting to the UN Security Council on his return from the Middle East, Ban said the recent violence in Gaza was a sign of "collective political failure" and called for a "massive international effort" to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Ban visited the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday to pledge aid for Palestinians after Israeli attacks killed 1,300 and made thousands homeless in a 22-day assault Israel said was to stop Hamas firing rockets at southern Israel.

Hamas and Israel independently declared cease-fires on Sunday and Israel has withdrawn its troops from Gaza.

Ban said he had demanded a thorough investigation by Israel of "several incidents of outrageous attacks against UN facilities," including UN-run schools that were being used as shelters and a warehouse storing aid supplies.

Israel blames Hamas for fighting around civilians and sites run by the United Nations, which provides support for much of the 1.5 million population.

"I expect to receive a full explanation of each incident and that those responsible will be held accountable for their actions," Ban told the Security Council in a report delivered for him by Under-Secretary-General Lynn Pascoe because Ban had lost his voice.

He said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had promised to provide the results of an inquiry "on an urgent basis," and he would decide on any appropriate follow-up steps when he had heard Israel's explanation.

Ban said Palestinian reconciliation was vital and appealed to Arab countries and the international community to support efforts to reconcile the two rival factions - President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, in the West Bank, and Hamas, which drove Fatah out of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Ban said the tools and plans to end the Arab-Israeli conflict were in place in Security Council resolutions and an Arab peace initiative, but the political will had been lacking.

"Nothing short of a massive international effort is now required to support, and insist on, a resolution of this conflict," Ban said.

Other UN officials, including John Ging, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, have called for an independent investigation into the attacks. UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said Ban also wanted one after the Israeli inquiry but could not himself initiate it.

Palestinian representative Riyad Mansour said he was satisfied with Ban's comments because in his view "determining the next step...includes many things, including legal proceedings in (the) international legal system."

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, condemned by Washington and Israel as anti-Israeli, has said it will send a fact-finding mission to investigate Israeli actions in Gaza. UNRWA will also conduct its own probe, Pascoe said.

The top UN priority was to get relief supplies to Palestinians and ensure the current cease-fire is translated into a lasting one paving the way for a comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Pascoe told reporters.

The UN Security Council, in its first comment since the end of the fighting, agreed on a statement welcoming the cease-fire and efforts to make it durable and sustainable. It urged all sides in the conflict to protect UN facilities and "ensure respect for international humanitarian law."

Ban said Palestinian unity was vital and appealed to Arab and other countries to support efforts to reconcile President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, in the West Bank, and Hamas, which drove Fatah out of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

He said the tools to end the Arab-Israeli conflict were in place in Security Council resolutions and an Arab peace initiative, but the political will had been lacking.

"Nothing short of a massive international effort is now required to support, and insist on, a resolution of this conflict," Ban said, adding that he would urge U.S. President Barack Obama, who was inaugurated on Tuesday, to make Middle East peace one of his top priorities.

Related articles:
  • Olmert to Ban: Probe into Gaza war devastation must take rocket damage into account, too
  • Aid agencies supply essentials to Palestinians following Gaza conflict
  • IAF bombs Gaza target after 8 mortar shells fired at Israel
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