Israel's foreign ministry has cancelled meetings between UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson and government officials, ministry sources said. The sources said that the ministry had vetoed Mrs Robinson's official meetings after she called off meetings with Israeli right-wing leaders, Likud head Ariel Sharon and Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert. The Palestinian Authority had said earlier that Mrs Robinson would not be welcomed in Palestinian-ruled West Bank and Gaza Strip because she planned to meet Israeli right-wingers. A source close to the UN Commission on Human Rights expressed hope that a planned meeting between Mrs Robinson, who arrived in Israel today for a week-long Middle East visit, and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat might still take place. A UN source said that Mrs Robinson had dropped plans to see Mr Sharon and Mr Olmert.
Yesterday, her office in Geneva said that Mrs Robinson was hoping to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak as well as with Arafat but made no mention of Mr Sharon or Mr Olmert. Palestinians blame Mr Sharon for sparking six weeks of deadly violence in the occupied territories with a provocative visit on 28 September to a Jerusalem site that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The Palestinian Authority said it viewed any meetings she might hold with Mr Sharon and Mr Olmert as a violation of a UN Human Rights Commission resolution.
Five more people have died in the Middle East conflict. A 14-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli troops at a crossing point between Israel and Gaza, and a 17-year-old Palestinian was killed in a confrontation with Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip. At a border crossing in the Gaza Strip an Israeli woman was killed when Palestinian gunmen fired on her car. Israel retaliated by closing the Gaza airport. And two other Palestinians who had been injured in earlier clashes have died in hospital, bringing the death toll over the past six weeks to 183.
Meanwhile, an international panel has been formed to investigate the causes of the recent violence between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. The United States said that the five-member panel would be led by former Senator George Mitchell, who served as mediator in the Northern Ireland peace talks.
