Israel to Pay U.N. $10.5 Million for Gaza Damage

[AnGrz_Z_K_Jailer]

By JOSHUA MITNICK and JOE LAURIA
UNITED NATIONS -- Israel has agreed to pay the U.N. $10.5 million in compensation for damage to U.N. property and for the life of a U.N. driver during Israel's war last winter against Gaza, according to two U.N. officials.

"Agreement has been reached in principle on the terms of an arrangement under which Israel would make a payment to the United Nations," said Martin Nisirky, the U.N. spokesman, on Thursday. "The United Nations is now waiting for a green light from the government of Israel and we anticipate receiving that green light imminently."

Mr. Nisirky said the U.N. submitted a claim for reimbursement to the Israeli foreign ministry last July "for the losses that the United Nations has sustained in a number of incidents during the Gaza conflict."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barack discussed he payments by phone this week, Mr. Nisirky said.

Mr. Ban, who was in Israel during one of the incidents, demanded $11.2 million from Israel for damage to two U.N. schools and a World Food Program warehouse in Gaza City. The family of a driver of a U.N. truck, who the U.N. says was killed as a result of Israeli fire, would be compensated from the total amount, a U.N. official said.

It was not expected that Israel would accompany the payment with an acknowledgment of wrongdoing, said the official. Israel has said that the damage to U.N. property was a result of collateral damage, claiming Gazan militants were fighting near the properties. The U.N. has denied that militants were in the area of the warehouse and the two schools.

The payment would mark the first time Israel has agreed to compensate anyone in Gaza during the three and a half week war in December and January a year ago that killed about 1,400 Gazans and left behind billions of dollars in destroyed infrastructure.

Israel said it launched Operation Cast Lead to stop rocket fire from inside Gaza to civilian areas of Israel. Four Israelis died during the conflict.

Though Israel blames Hamas for the destruction of the U.N. properties, it seeks to improve ties with the U.N., which have been severely strained by the incidents. Mr. Ban harshly condemned Israel for the attacks at the time.

Shlomo Dror, a defense ministry spokesman, said Israel recognizes that U.N. aid agencies in Gaza are a bulwark against a humanitarian crisis.

Israel sent a delegation to New York last month to meet with Security Council ambassadors considering a U.N. report that accuses both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war.

South African jurist Richard Goldstone headed the commission that issued the report, which calls on both Israel and Hamas to conduct credible independent investigations or have their cases sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The Israeli delegation told the ambassadors that a number of prosecutions of Israeli soldiers had occurred based on information in the Goldstone report.

Source : Israel to Pay U.N. $10.5 Million for Gaza Damage - WSJ.com

 

[TruthSeeker]

"Agreement has been reached in principle on the terms of an arrangement under which Israel would make a payment to the United Nations," said Martin Nisirky, the U.N. spokesman, on Thursday. "The United Nations is now waiting for a green light from the government of Israel and we anticipate receiving that green light imminently."

Looks like the UN has made a "separate peace" with Israel. The rest of the Gazans are on their own. I wonder if any al Jazeera equipment/buildings were damaged. I bet they don't get any shekels.

 

[fhassan]

Israels recompense will not arrive for quite a while...It will grow even stronger and shed more blood until that happens.

 

[Luftwaffe]

That's cool Israel is actually giving americans tax payers money to un cool...jews lose nothing cheers..