UN to probe Jenin 'war crimes'

Israeli and Palestinian authorities are today preparing for the arrival of a UN "fact-finding" mission to investigate allegations from human rights groups of grave violations of international law during the Israeli invasion of the West Bank city of Jenin.

The fact finders include the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Crescent. Other human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have alleged that Israeli forces that invaded the city three weeks ago might be guilty of "grave violations of human rights which constitute a war crime" - if the alleged crimes are proven and are part of a "systematic pattern".

The Israeli army lost 23 men in fierce fighting in the Jenin refugee camp, which has spawned a score of suicide bombers in the past 18 months. The army has insisted that it went out of its way to avoid civilian casualties in heavy fighting in a densely populated area.

Its soldiers have also alleged that Palestinian gunmen hid behind women and children during the fighting and fired on Israeli troops from civilian homes.

An area roughly equivalent to four football pitches, where 800 families lived in blocks of flats, was levelled by Israeli troops during the invasion. So far about 45 bodies have been recovered from the rubble but Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian Cabinet minister, has continued to insist that "at least 500 other people were massacred in Jenin".

The ICRC's delegate in Jerusalem, Renee Kosirnik, said: "When we are confronted with the extent of destruction in a civilian area as we were it is difficult to accept that international humanitarian law has been respected."

Mr Kosirnik said the ICRC, which is responsible for ensuring that the Geneva Convention is respected by warring parties, had been denied access to the wounded inside the refugee camp for six days after the worst fighting was over.

He added: "In those circumstances it is the obligation of the occupying force, in this case the Israelis, to provide medical assistance to civilians. It was their duty to save lives. The denial of access to medical aid was unacceptable."

Palestinian officials have continued to allege that the Israeli army has transported large numbers of bodies out of the camp and buried them on bases in unmarked graves which have, in the past, been used as graveyards for militants killed in terror attacks.

They have insisted that a refrigerated lorry was seen near the camp.

Israeli military sources scoffed at the suggestion the lorry was being used to transport bodies and said it had been used to move food.

Asked whether there was evidence of a massacre Peter Hansen, the head of the UN's relief agency for Palestinians which supplied the camp with humanitarian aid said: "It is irresponsible to throw numbers around and we will have to wait until the fact-finding mission has completed its investigations."