The article below is abridged from a May 7 Inter-Press Service report.
A detailed 184-page report critical of Israeli attacks on United Nations personnel and buildings during the Gaza conflict last December-January has been meticulously stripped down to a 27-page document — mostly due to political sensitivities and on security grounds.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon vehemently denied accusations he had released only a "watered down" version of the report by a four-member UN Board of Inquiry (BoI) .
The BoI, comprising Ian Martin, Larry Johnson, Sinha Basnayake and Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Eichenberger, was mandated to investigate the nine most serious incidents involving UN personnel and property during the sustained Israeli military attacks on Gaza during the conflict.
The Israelis repeatedly attacked UN compounds even after giving several personal assurances to the Secretary-General that they would not single out the UN for any military strikes. These attacks resulted in deaths and injuries.
Ban said he "intends" to seek reparations or reimbursement for loss and damage incurred by the UN.
But in a letter to the president of the UN Security Council, Ban said: "I do not consider it necessary for me to initiate any further formal inquiry in this regard, which are outside the terms of reference of this Board."
Ban also said that the government of Israel told him it has "significant reservations and objections" to certain elements in the summary of the BoI report.
Yvonne Terlingen, Amnesty International representative at the United Nations, told IPS: "We are very disappointed with the Secretary-General's reaction to what we have come to know [from the report]."
She said there should be a broader inquiry into the Israeli attacks by the 15-member Security Council.
An Arab diplomat told IPS he does not expect any investigation by the Security Council because permanent members the US, Britain and France, are "far too protective" of Israel.
He said: "Israel knows that it can get away with murder."