Israel won't cooperate with UN security fence watchdog

From THE JERUSALEM POST Apr. 7, 2008, by Michal Lando, New York:

Israel will not cooperate with the head of a UN body surveying Palestinian damages resulting from the West Bank security barrier, an official in the Israeli Mission to the UN said Monday.

"This body is yet another body which is the result of the automatic majority in the General Assembly," the Israeli official said. "At the end of the day, this mandate is not helpful to Palestinians, as others are not, especially when the Israeli legal establishment does give remedy to Palestinians who claim they have been damaged by the security fence. Israel has stated since the beginning of this procedure that we are not cooperating with this UN body."

Vladimir Goryayev, the head of the UN body charged with collecting Palestinian claims of damages from the barrier, arrived in the region Sunday for a week long visit to begin establishing contacts and reviewing the situation on the ground....

...The United Nations Register of Damage, which was established in 2006 in spite of objections from Israel, the United States and five other countries, calls for the establishment of the register and an office to serve as a comprehensive record of the damage caused as a result of the wall's construction.