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Wednesday, June 14, 2006
UN Sec'y Gen.: Israel can't defend itself if Palestinians use human shields

[IMRA: "I have always maintained that there has to be proportional use of
force, and governments have to be careful not to take action in areas where
civilians are remotely likely to be put in harm's way" = if the Palestinians
store, move, and launch rockets from within Palestinian civilian areas
Israel should not defend itself.]

New York, 13 June 2006 - UN Secretary-General's press encounter following
Security Council Kofi Annan Meeting on Timor-Leste
www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=885

SG: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

Let me first say a word about Palestine - how shocked and saddened I am by
the latest missile attack by the Israelis, which killed nine people and
wounded about forty. I have always maintained that there has to be
proportional use of force, and governments have to be careful not to take
action in areas where civilians are remotely likely to be put in harm's way,
and that we need to respect humanitarian international law. I offer my
deepest condolences to the families that lost their loved ones, and I would
also want to say that, with regards to the [Qassam] attacks by the
Palestinians, I have always
condemned it and ask them to stop doing it. You will note that in all my
reports to the [Security]
Council, this has been reported to the Council, and in my own contacts with
the two sides - with President [Mahmoud] Abbas and the Israelis - I have
also maintained this. It was only last weekend that I spoke to the Israeli
Prime Minister about this issue when the incident at the beach occurred.
Let me also say that I have just come from the Council, where we discussed
the situation in Timor-Leste. The President, the Prime Minister and the
Speaker of Parliament have written to me, asking for UN assistance in terms
of police, eventually military, and staff who will help them strengthen
their institutions. We are working with the international forces on the
ground; Ian Martin, my Special Envoy. is now briefing the Council, but it is
obvious that the UN will have to go back to Timor-Leste in a much larger
form than we are at the moment. And we will need to send an assessment
mission on the ground to determine exactly what needs to be done. They have
also requested that the UN undertakes an investigation into the recent
events, and I have asked the High Commissioner for Human Rights to take a
lead in mounting that investigation, and we would want to move as quickly as
possible.

Q: Mr. Secretary, the Israelis have done their own investigation into the
first attack on the beach where that girl lost her whole family, and
officials are saying that they are concluding that this is a mine that was
on the beach, that sort of thing. Human rights organizations are saying that
this is quite unlikely. Is it time for an international investigation - any
which way - whether it is the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or any
which way you might find it necessary on both of these attacks in protection
of these Palestinian innocent civilians?

SG: To find a mine on the beach is rather odd. With regards to an
international investigation of any kind, it would require the cooperation of
the parties. We would need both the Israelis and Palestinian authorities to
cooperate with such an investigation. Our previous attempts at such
investigations were not too successful, and I think you remember very well,
you are the first to raise this and maybe we need to see what - we haven't
had a request from any of the others.

Q: But would you call on the Israelis and the Palestinians to allow an
international investigation?

SG: I haven't seen the results of the Israeli investigation to be able to
answer your questions. But I think one would need to look at the
investigation - how thorough, how competent it is, and how acceptable it is
for one to extrapolate from there.
...
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, at a time when President Mahmoud Abbas is trying
to force the hand of Hamas to accept the referendum, to instill the
principle of the Road Map and two States living side by side in peace,
Israel is conducting its offensive? [inaudible] missile attacks, targeting
the efforts of President Mahmoud Abbas?

SG: I think we are living through a very difficult situation in the
Palestinian territory. First of all, the Palestinians should find a way of
unifying their efforts and coming together, and I think President Abbas and
the other parties should work on bringing everyone together and define a
common vision that they would all share. Division and infighting between the
Palestinians does not help. I think that is the first issue one needs to
focus on and settle. Obviously, given the tensions on the ground, the
Israeli missile attacks have not helped either. We do accept that Israel has
a right to defend itself and its population, but the issue of
proportionality and respect for international humanitarian law is a basic
requirement.

...
Q: Mr. Secretary-General, yesterday Jan Egeland briefed us on East Timor and
he said that the world is poor in addressing emerging crises. Today the
International Crisis Group just put out a report saying that, if there is a
high-level assassination in the Occupied Territories, Palestine would go
into civil war. Are you considering using other diplomatic resources, such
as the Quartet, or talking to other people about making a move in the area?

SG: The Quartet is constantly in contact. We do have conference calls, and
we are in touch with each other, both at the Envoy level, and at the
Principal level. I can assure you that we are all extremely concerned about
these developments, and I am personally in touch with the leaders in the
region. I spoke to Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert over the weekend, and I
expect to speak to President Abbas shortly. And I am also in touch with my
other Quartet principals, and I will also be in touch with other leaders in
the region.

Q: But you have a position on assassinations, Mr. Secretary-General. Are you
not repeating it about these assassinations - extrajudicial, is that what
you call them? It is against international law, do you not stand by what you
said?

SG: I have always said that I stand by my statement with regards to respect
for international law and the need to be careful not to resort to
extrajudicial assassination of people who do not have a chance to respond to
the accusations - whatever they may be - because they will no longer be
around to answer questions anyway.

Thank you.

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