UN Missile/Stretcher update

[RACooper]

Drum-roll please....

And it looks like it WAS a stretcher after-all, and that just maybe some people leaped to the wrong conclusions...

IDF: 'Kassam' was a stretcher

The army erred in stating it had video evidence that Palestinians were seen placing a Kassam rocket into a UNRWA vehicle in northern Gaza nine days ago, IDF Spokeswoman Brig.-Gen. Ruth Yaron said on Tuesday.

The IDF had already backed off from its initial claims last week, but Yaron's words mark the first time the IDF has admitted that its allegations against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency were incorrect.

"No rocket was transported in a UNRWA ambulance. The Israel Defense Force's mistake in this regard is plausible," Yaron told members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
UNRWA commissioner-general Peter Hansen, who bore the brunt of the attack against his organization, could not be reached for comment, but earlier this week told The Jerusalem Post he already felt vindicated.

"I was convinced from the first moment I saw the film that the object in question wasn't a Kassam," said Hansen.

A UN spokesman said, "We have taken note of the official remarks acknowledging that a stretcher had been used."

Yaron told the Knesset committee that an explanation had been sent to UNRWA representatives.

The IDF changed its opinion after a series of additional examinations, she said. In defense of the IDF, she said the UN ambulance was suspiciously parked in Jabalya for days at a time a few dozen meters from where Palestinian militants were engaging in operations, including burying large quantities of explosives to bomb IDF vehicles.

"It was not clear what the role [of the ambulance] was," said Yaron. She presented the video footage of the UN ambulance, widely shown on Israeli television, to committee members.

A senior government official said the IDF's admission was a sign of courage, not a mark of failure. "I think our strength is that the IDF can come out and say it made a mistake." He added that UNRWA's history of being used by terrorist organization is what led the IDF to its mistake.

The IDF and the Foreign Ministry continue to insist that while they may have been mistaken in this case, they have other evidence showing that terrorists have been exploiting UNRWA. The IDF presented that evidence to an investigatory UN team earlier this week. The IDF has also arrested at least 13 UN workers on suspicion of being involved in terrorism.

The UN launched an investigation into UNRWA at the request of Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman. Members will report their findings to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"Our team has had some constructive meetings," said a UN spokesman.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Tuesday urged the US and Canada to stop all contributions to UNRWA. According to the center, the two countries account for over a third of UNRWA's annual budget. A suspension of funds would constitute a major loss for the organization.

The center also launched a campaign on its Web site (www.wiesenthal.com) to canvass support for the move following comments by Hansen earlier this month suggesting that Hamas members or sympathizers serve on his 8,000-person relief staff in Gaza.

"By hiring active Hamas members, UNRWA is affording the opportunity for terrorism," Efraim Zuroff, head of the center's Jerusalem office, told The Jerusalem Post.

According to UNRWA, its staff is required to "behave with integrity and impartiality in the conduct of their official functions." In relation to infractions, the organization maintained that "it may take disciplinary actions against the staff member whenever warranted."

According to Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Wiesenthal Center: "To imagine Hamas terrorists holding down day jobs as humanitarians makes a mockery of the UN."

Nina Gilbert and Liora Norwich contributed to this report.

The article is available at the following link:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...=1097554242492

It's feels good to be right