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Desmond Tutu (AP)
Last update - 22:41 11/12/2006
Desmond Tutu: Israel refused fact-finding mission to Gaza
By The Associated Press

Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu said Monday that the Israeli government's failure to permit a fact-finding mission to investigate Israeli-Palestinian violence was "very distressing."

"We find the lack of cooperation by the Israeli government very distressing, as well as its failure to allow the missing timely passage to Israel," Tutu told reporters after UN officials said Israel had blocked his UN fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Monday that no final decision has been made.
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"Israel heard that they decided not to come. We had not given them a negative response, our final decision was pending," Regev said.

"At times not making a decision is making a decision," said Tutu. "We couldn't obviously wait in limbo indefinitely."

The former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town said he had accepted the mission on behalf of the UN Human Rights Council "at short notice."

"We cancelled important commitments to make ourselves available for this task and to submit a report by mid-December to the council," Tutu said, adding that to take up the mission he had left the bedside of his wife, who was in a hospital following a knee operation.

Christine Chinkin, a law professor at the London School of Economics, said she and other members of the a team had hoped to meet with Israeli authorities and had therefore decided against entering Gaza through Egypt.

"That would be one-sided. It would not give us the full picture. It would also look as though we were going in the back door," she said. "It was in no way at all a one-sided mission."

Because of the failure of Israel to approve the mission in time, the mission team had had to cancel its appointments in Israel and the Gaza Strip with people involved in the conflict.

Tutu was to begin leading a six-member team over the past weekend in the
northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun to investigate the killings of 19civilians in an Israeli artillery barrage last month.

But Israel refused to grant the South African anti-apartheid campaigner the necessary travel clearance, said officials in two separate UN departments who spoke on condition of anonymity before Tutu spoke.

Tutu's team was supposed to report its findings to the UN Human Rights
Council by Friday. It is unclear if Israel will allow the fact-finding mission to take place at a later date.

Israeli officials have expressed concern that Tutu's mission was only
entrusted with investigating alleged human rights violations committed by
Israel, and not also by Palestinian militants.

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 weeklong incursion meant to curb Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel from the town.

Palestinian militants frequently use Beit Hanun as a staging ground for their rocket attacks on Israel.

"We had a problem not with the personalities, we had a problem with the
institution," Regev said. "We saw a situation whereby the human rights
mechanism of the UN was being cynically exploited to advance an anti-Israel agenda. This would do the Israelis, the Palestinians and peace in the Middle East no good at all. This would also have done nothing to serve the interest of human rights."

The council, which replaced the widely discredited Human Rights Commission in June, has been criticized for passing eight resolutions criticizing Israel in its six-month existence, but none censuring any other government's policies.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the watchdog last month to deal with the Mideast conflict in an impartial manner, and said it was time to focus attention on "graver" crises such as Darfur. After that, European countries rallied enough support to require the council to hold a special session on Darfur, which has been scheduled for Tuesday.

"I'm glad the council will be discussing it, because it does underscore what makes for the credibility of an institution or of a person," Tutu said. "Human rights violations are human rights violations wherever they would occur."

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  1.   2-2 has showed his bias against Israel many times in past 15:53  |  Alan 11/12/06
  2.   Like looking for an impartial Chicken to investigate KFC 15:55  |  Alan 11/12/06
  3.   1 way ticket into gaza 15:57  |  vik 11/12/06
  4.   Well, Mr. Tutu, we are very distressed with the fact that when 18 15:59  |  Nadav 11/12/06
  5.   The U.N, anti israeli? 16:08  |  Mary 11/12/06
  6.   Tutu is distressed 16:11  |  Jonathan S 11/12/06
  7.   nothing to hide...? 16:14  |  paradiz 11/12/06
  8.   no what is distressing is tutu`s morally bankrupt arrogance. 16:18  |  ralph 11/12/06
  9.   what important actions did tutu postpone? An urgent visit to Darf 16:20  |  ralph 11/12/06
  10.   Reply to #1 and #2 16:23  |  Mahona 11/12/06
  11.   Mr Tutu 16:31  |  Yariv 11/12/06
  12.   Israel denies UN "fault-finding" mission. Good. 16:31  |  AV 11/12/06
  13.   The best news I have heard in a while 16:41  |  Vanya 11/12/06
  14.   Desmond Tutu 16:43  |  Disgusted S.African 11/12/06
  15.   F.. tutu and F.. UN 16:46  |  zzzzz 11/12/06
  16.   Mahona-I like a Judge to be impartial from the start! 16:50  |  Alan 11/12/06
  17.   #9 Israelis don`t want to be redeemed 16:51  |  ballistic 11/12/06
  18.   Desmond Tutu 17:08  |  Don 11/12/06
  19.   Let him come in prove you right 17:11  |  Tim 11/12/06
  20.   Tutu the limp-minded 17:30  |  Ben 11/12/06
  21.   Two birds with one stone 17:31  |  Daniel King 11/12/06
  22.   If Arafat won a Nobel Prize... 17:46  |  Ruben Misrahi 11/12/06
  23.   Lynchee refuses to provide the rope? 17:47  |  Paul Freedman 11/12/06
  24.   UN "fault-finding" mission mandated to criticize Israel only. 17:49  |  Hal 11/12/06
  25.   Mary #5 have you seen the new Human Rights Commission 17:52  |  Jabadini 11/12/06
  26.   In 1986 millions died of Gov.Controled starvation in Ethiopia 18:03  |  Human RC Chairman 11/12/06
  27.   Only Israel`s own investigations are impartial 18:07  |  Amused 11/12/06
  28.   Why should Israel agree to defame itself 18:08  |  Bimmer 11/12/06
  29.   Mary #5 18:21  |  Myron Berliner 11/12/06
  30.   Israels policy of Ambiguity 18:31  |  fritz 11/12/06
  31.   2 2, to to, too too, two two, TA TA 18:38  |  DOV KORET 11/12/06
  32.   I PROPOSE THEY SHOULD SENT THE IMPARTIAL JIMMY CARTER 18:52  |  paul harris 11/12/06
  33.   #17 ANOTHER IMPARTIAL POSTING FROM BALLS 18:56  |  paul harris 11/12/06
  34.   Tutu`s soviet-funded ANC never said a word about Refusenik Jews! 19:11  |  Dudu 11/12/06
  35.   Right or wrong, Tutu stays at home and life goes on 19:16  |  Uzi 11/12/06
  36.   What is Tutu`s position regarding Iranian Nuke Program? 19:18  |  Tomer 11/12/06
  37.   What does the Great Tutu have to say about Gilad Shalit? 19:21  |  Me 11/12/06
  38.   The Jews Are In Season...Again 19:23  |  Tony Anthony 11/12/06
  39.   Members of UN Fact Finding Team are Liars 19:50  |  Lolek 11/12/06
  40.   Motive For Refusal 20:09  |  chet 11/12/06
  41.   Ha Ha no stunt for TuTu 20:21  |  dave 11/12/06
  42.   Tutu is a bigot 20:22  |  semsem 11/12/06
  43.   Tootoo go to Darfur 20:26  |  Laila 11/12/06
  44.   Desmond Tutu: Israel refused fact-finding mission to Gaza 20:31  |  Clive Coleridge 11/12/06
  45.   UN Israel Committee -- Tutu`s growing team 20:31  |  Serge 11/12/06
  46.   More Zionist Arrogance 20:32  |  Yaakov Sullivan 11/12/06
  47.   Amnesty International law prof says "in no way one sided"! 20:34  |  Serge 11/12/06
  48.   we have the right to ask if he is sufficiently qualified. he isn` 20:34  |  ralph 11/12/06
  49.   Impose Travel Restrictions on anyone holding Israeli Citizenship 20:43  |  Fred Farkelsteinman 11/12/06
  50.   The Comments Here 20:50  |  Gullible Cynic 11/12/06
  51.   Job for TUTU 20:56  |  SMF 11/12/06
  52.   Tutu wants the facts?` 21:02  |  Jon 11/12/06
  53.   Fred Farkelsteinman 21:06  |  Brad 11/12/06
  54.   Yaakov Sullivan#46 21:20  |  Yariv 11/12/06
  55.   TuTu history 21:25  |  GZLives 11/12/06
  56.   TuTu history 21:25  |  GZLives 11/12/06
  57.   TuTu history 21:25  |  GZLives 11/12/06
  58.   TuTu history 21:26  |  GZLives 11/12/06
  59.   Why TuTu 21:26  |  GZLives 11/12/06
  60.   Nobel Peace Prize given to Arafat by Norwegian Nazi member Kvanmo 21:40  |  Terje 11/12/06
  61.   Tutu`s complaint 21:45  |  Briton 11/12/06
  62.   FOR YAAKOV #46 21:52  |  Brant 11/12/06
  63.   tutu 21:55  |  whitten 11/12/06
  64.   To #50 22:01  |  DMO 11/12/06
  65.   GZLives 22:04  |  Yariv 11/12/06
  66.   Israel #1 TERROR STATE... 22:07  |  MIKE KATZ 11/12/06
  67.   Yaakov Sullivan More Zionist Arrogance 22:12  |  Ran 11/12/06
  68.   UN and TUTU 22:24  |  L. Gomberoff 11/12/06
  69.   Hey Chet, You Don`t Get 22:26  |  DavidAK 11/12/06
  70.   Desmond Tutu 22:36  |  Hall 11/12/06
  71.   Mike Katz 22:41