Annan refuses to delay Jenin mission
Israel today asked the UN to postpone a fact-finding team to probe the military assault on the Jenin refugee camp but Secretary-General Kofi Annan said there was no reason for delay.
Annan said he expects the three-member team and its advisers to arrive in Israel tomorrow as scheduled.
"I think our talks are going reasonably well," Annan said at his New York headquarters.
"We are giving them the appropriate clarifications and I do expect the team to leave tomorrow. I don't think there's any reason for further delay."
Earlier, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said an initial meeting on Thursday between an Israeli delegation and UN officials did not produce the clarifications that Israel wanted on the fact-finding mission's composition and mandate.
