Visit of the U.S. Under Secretary of State to Jenin - 2002-04-20

William Burns, the Under Secretary of State of the United States, who visited the Palestinian refugee camp in Jenin today, stated that the tragedy of Jenin is a humanitarian disaster. Reuters reported that Burns noted it is clear that what has happened in the Jenin camp has caused immense human suffering for thousands of Palestinian civilians. The U.S. envoy refrained from commenting on whether the Palestinian claims of a massacre in the Jenin camp by the Israeli army are true or not. Burns urged Israel to allow aid workers full access to all parts of the camp. Israel has stated that it will cooperate with the United Nations fact-finding mission regarding the attack on the Jenin refugee camp, claiming it has nothing to hide. On Friday night, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to send a delegation led by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, to Jenin. The U.S. had previously threatened to veto the proposed resolution by Arab countries. The resolution emphasized the dire situation of Palestinian civilians. It called on Israel to lift restrictions on aid groups in severely affected Palestinian areas where medical supplies and medicines are urgently needed. The Security Council expressed deep concern over the unknown number of Palestinians killed in Jenin. Israeli forces withdrew from the Palestinian refugee camp early Friday morning. Palestinians claim that during their assault on Jenin, Israeli forces massacred hundreds of Palestinians, mostly civilians. Israel states that several dozen were killed, most of whom were Palestinian militants.