Make Israel pay bill for its damage, says UN diplomat

By David Cronin

Date: 16/10/03

ISRAEL should be held responsible for damaging EU-funded projects in the occupied Palestinian territories, a top UN diplomat said this week.

The European Commission and the Union's member states jointly contribute 48% of the €340 million annual budget for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Its Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said many of the Israeli military actions which hinder the agency's work are "completely unacceptable under international law".

These, he added, have included using UNRWA-assisted schools as detention centres for Palestinians.

Speaking to European Voice, the 62-year-old Dane said "Israel has very severe security problems and a democracy like Israel will be under pressure from its own people to do something about these. The question is whether Israel - in pursuit of its legitimate rights - acted with disproportionate force and with undue harshness against the civilian population of the territories".

"We can certainly say part of the damage they have caused was caused unnecessarily. And part of the damage to property that has been unnecessary should be reimbursed."

However, he declined to say what action the EU should take in seeking compensation from Ariel Sharon's government. "I really think it is up to the Union to figure out how far it would wish to go in pursuing this," he added.

Last year, External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten effectively ruled out taking legal action against Israel over damage inflicted on EU-funded projects. Patten pointed out that suing Israel would be "horrendously complicated" for the Union as the Palestinian Authority takes legal ownership of aid once it is delivered there.

Asked for his response to Hansen's remarks, Israel's EU envoy Oded Eran said any restrictions placed on UNRWA's activities have been in reprisal for terrorism or as part of security operations aimed at thwarting attacks. "There is no policy whatsoever to hamper or curtail the activities of organizations such as UNRWA," added Eran.

According to UN estimates, Israeli troops have caused more than €1 billion in direct physical damage to the Palestinian economy since the Palestinian uprising or intifada began in 2000.

Hansen made a three-day visit to Brussels this week, where he held talks with MEPs and met Patten, his Commission colleague Poul Nielson (development and humanitarian aid), as well as Javier Solana, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs.

He singled out Israel's April 2002 operation at the Jenin refugee camp, in which scores of Palestinians were allegedly slaughtered in reprisal for the killing of 13 Israeli soldiers, along with the deaths of eight UNRWA staff as the worst episodes of his seven years in his post.

"Humanitarian convoys were blocked from access to Jenin for several days when the conflict was raging inside the camp," he recalled.

In 2002, UNRWA appealed for €146 million in emergency aid but received little more than half that amount in response.

Hansen listed Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK as the EU countries most generous to his agency and said he wished to see larger contributions from the remaining eight.

While allegations that part of EU funding for the Palestinian Authority (PA) may have been siphoned off to terrorists are being studied by the Union's anti-fraud office OLAF, Hansen said EU support for the Palestinians is vital.

"It would be very dangerous to see the PA being put at risk by the withholding of funding necessary under current circumstances in the region."

He also voiced confidence in the reforms undertaken to the management of foreign aid under the supervision of Palestinian Finance Minister Salaam Fayyad.

"Whatever the misgivings about the use of money - and I think they have probably been exaggerated - the work of Salaam Fayyad is creating the basis of confidence in the management of PA resources," Hansen said.

Although he would not say what diplomatic role the Union should strive to play in the Middle East, Hansen remarked: "Whatever we do in an emergency, we can only provide band-aids and pain relievers to the population. This is a political problem and only has political solutions."

The United Nations' Commissioner General, Peter Hansen, has said that Israel should make reparations for damage to European Union-funded projects in the occupied Palestinian territories.