Will the UN Protect Hizbollah Kidnappers--Again?

In response to Israel's reaction to Iran's twin proxies Hamas and Hizbollah infiltrating Israel to kidnap IDF soldiers, Kofi Annan is taking action: sending a team of three, led by by Vijay Nambiar--Annan's political advisor, along with UN Middle East envoys Alvaro de Soto and Terje Roed Larsen.

Nambiar and de Soto are your garden variety UN representatives, making general statements about the need for peace and humanitarian considerations and condemning violence--combined with condemnations of Israel's reactions to attacks on her citizens.

Vijay Nambiar, when he was India's Permanent Representative said in 2003:

"Israel remains oblivious of the limitations of its uni-dimensional policy based on a military approach that relies on the might of its forces without recourse to a concomitant political approach. Its policy of military blockades, curfews and restrictions perpetuate continued dislocation of normal life, economic deprivation and loss of freedom and further demoralisation of the Palestinian people," Mr. Nambiar said.

"This has led, inevitably, to continuing acts of violence and retribution against Israeli forces and civilians," he said.

Commitment to the Oslo and the Roadmap, return of territory, and allowing Arafat to establish the PA don't count. Palestinian attacks are inevitable reactions to Israeli action. Apparently, if there is a cycle of violence--Israel started it. Of course, that was when Nambiar was India's representative to the UN.

Meanwhile, in connection to the Hamas kidnapping, De Soto said:

Señor de Soto called on Corporal Shalit’s kidnappers to release him as soon as possible, saying: “It does not serve any Palestinian interest to continue to hold this hostage.” However, he said that the UN was “very alarmed at the situation, particularly the humanitarian one”. He reminded Israel of its obligations under international law not to punish civilians and to ensure that it did not react with undue harshness.

According to de Soto, Israel is guilty of breaking international law--the Palestinians are guilty of not being pragmatic

And then there is Mr. Larsen, who bought the lie about Jenin, a lie exposed by the Palestinians as well.

His name also comes up in connection with another Hizbollah kidnapping:

On October 7, 2000, Hezbollah forces illegally crossed the Israeli border with Lebanon through a UN patrolled area and kidnapped three Israel Defense Force soldiers, Adi Avitan, Binyamin Avraham, and Omar Souad. UNIFIL peacekeepers videotaped the incident; however, the United Nations denied possessing any such videotape for almost nine months. On July 6, 2001, The UN admitted, contrary to their earlier denials, that they had possession of the tape as of 18 hours after the incident occurred.

About that UN denial:

Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer demanded that the tape be handed over to Israeli officials. He complained that UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Terje Larsen had denied the existence of the tape as recently as late June. "Since the kidnapping we have claimed all the time that there is a videotape in the hands of a UN peacekeeper. We asked for it many times. Unfortunately they said no, and no, and no," he said. Some Israeli officials have hinted that UNIFIL unwittingly played a role in the kidnapping. UN Spokesman Fred Eckhard has categorically denied this.

Events played out like this:

October 7, 2000: Hizbollah kidnapping

Seven hours after the kidnapping, UNIFIL officers find Hizbullah's getaway cars. They find and catalogue 53 items in the cars, including fake UN flags, stickers and UNIFIL license plates. The amount of blood in the vehicles indicates that the occupants "may have been badly injured and may succumb to their injuries."-- but Athmanathan's assessment is not communicated to senior UN or Israeli officials.

October 8, 2001: An Indian UNIFIL officer films the vehicles' recovery, during which armed Hizbullah terrorists detain the convoy and demand the vehicles at gun-point. The UNIFIL Force Commander turns the vehicle over to Hizbullah "to avoid confrontation and because they were not United Nations property."

July 6, 2001: UN finally admits to having the tape, but won't turn it over because they must remain neutral.

Kofi Anan calls for an internal investigation following indications that UNIFIL had hidden the existence of the tape from Israel and senior UN officials for months and the UN "did not deliberately mislead the Israeli government."

July 15, 2001: A third video clip that "purports to show still photographs of Hizbullah fighters during the abduction itself" is shown on Lebanese TV.

July 16, 2001: According to the UN internal investigation:

General Athmanathan informed Mr. Guéhenno that, on 11 July, UNIFIL had learned of the existence of another videotape (hereafter referred to the Shebaa tape). This videotape, which did not indicate any time or date, nor the identity of the person filming, showed the shelling of IDF posts on 7 October, three to four kilometres from the abduction site, as well as activity in a UNIFIL shelter. The footage on this videotape is of the bombardment of Israeli positions along the Blue Line, and shows smoke that could be of the burning Israeli jeep. It appeared to be filmed from several locations, including from in or near a United Nations observation post and shelter.

The video was not of the kidnapping itself.

July 30, 2001: US Congress adopts resolution 411-4 for UN to release video

August 2, 2001: The UN releases the results of its investigation. Read report here.

UN admits "serious errors of judgement were made, in particular, by those who failed to convey information to the Israelis, which would have been helpful in an assessment of the condition of the three abducted soldiers." But:

Rather than giving the tape directly to Israel, though, the UN decided place sharp restrictions on when and how Israel could view the tape, allowing Israeli officials to view the tape only three times, at neutral sites in Geneva and Austria. The UN also refused to turn over the aforementioned items, which were bloodstained personal belongings of the IDF soldiers and UN officials fervently denied the existence of a third tape, a tape that many Israeli officials claim may have offered the most direct and useful information.

According to the Jerusalem Post:

Israel Ambassador to the UN Yehuda Lancry announced that Israel had accepted the UN's offer to view an edited version of the video [of the recovery], in which the faces of Hizbullah terrorists who may have been involved in the kidnapping are obscured.

According to Palestine Facts:

Only heavily edited versions were eventually turned over to Israel, indicating a cover-up was still operating in the matter, probably to protect UNIFIL personnel who were involved or who were negligent in their duties. An Indian member of UNIFIL gave an interview to an Israeli newspaper in which he said that four Indian members of UNIFIL helped Hezbollah carry out the abduction.

November 1, 2001: Israeli army rabbi Israel Weiss pronounces the soldiers dead.
Their remains have yet to be recovered.

Among the conclusions of the internal investigation:

The videotape of 8 October was the catalyst for this investigation. There is nothing in the Indian Battalion videotape that justified its release to any party on elementary considerations of humanity. The investigation team uncovered the existence of another tape that, despite the fact that it was taped on 7 October, and the fact that it was filmed in a nearby location, also contains no information that bears on the well-being of the soldiers. The Force Commander's initial assessment and subsequent assessments by other senior officials has not varied: neither the tape nor the photographs contain any information that relates to the well-being of the soldiers. The investigation team concludes that at no time was videotape or other photographic material relevant to the condition of the soldiers withheld.

Apparently the sole justification for handing over the tape is whether it indicates the condition of the kidnap victims. The possibility that revealing the identity of Hizbollah kidnappers could lead to the rescue of the hostages is not a consideration.

There remain loose ends aside from the negligent handling of the situation by the UN from the beginning. Even if it is true that UNIFIL hid facts from UN officials, the implications of the sloppiness of how the whole affair was mis-handled go all the way to the top.

So when the UN comes to town, there will be--as always--low expectations.

Check out David Kopel at the Volokh Conspiracy who has lots more--including information on eye-witness testimony by a member of UNIFIL that UNIFIL was there during the kidnapping and could have prevented it; also information on how Hizbollah has been bribing UNIFIL officials.

Also see Soccer Dad, who puts this in context with the death of UN observers on Tuesday.

Crossposted at Israpundit

Technorati Tag: Israel and UN and Hizbullah and Hezbollah and UNIFIL.