UN official to be denied entry to Israel

Wednesday April 09, 2008 09:04 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

Israeli Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday that it will bar a UN official, appointed to investigate Human Rights abuses in Israel and Palestine,  from entering the country after he, according to the officials, compared Israel to the Nazis and refused to retract his statements.

Prof. Richard Falk

The official, Prof. Richard Falk, is scheduled to occupy his post with the United Nations Human Rights Council in May. Israeli officials said that he will be denied visa to enter Israel at least until the second meeting of the Human Rights Council in September, Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported.

Israel intends to ask the security council to expand the UNs Envoy’s mission to include investigation of human right abuses carried by Palestinians against Israelis.

The current mandate of the envoy only includes investigating human rights abuses and violations by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Haaretz reported that Israel also intends to express its disapproval of appointing Falk as a UN investigator.

A spokesperson of the Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that Falk already believes that Israel is acting like the Nazis, therefore it is “unfair to have him as an investigator in the area.

On Tuesday, the BBC posted on its website statements from Folk in which he defended his position and said that his last summer statements which equated Israel’s treatment of Palestinians with the Nazi treatment of the Jews during the holocaust.

He also told the BBC that Israel is always shielded from international criticism in spite of its illegal acts against the Palestinians.

Israeli officials claim that UN observers and envoys were repeatedly “unfair towards Israel”. The UN’s previous investigator, John Dougard,  described Israel’s actions against the Palestinians as  apartheid similar to the South African apartheid regime.

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