Jenin report: Has the UN got it right?

Palestinian officials have rejected a United Nations report on Israel's assault on the West Bank town of Jenin, which dismisses claims that Israeli troops committed a massacre there.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said there had been mass killings of civilians when Israel attacked the camp in April, calling the actions a "war crime".

The report disputed a claim by Mr Erekat that up to 500 Palestinians were killed in the camp, saying the figure was closer to 52, while Israel lost 23 soldiers there.

Israel praised the findings of the report, saying they repudiated "false Palestinian propaganda".

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he hoped it would help both sides move forward, but critics say it offers few new conclusions.

Has the UN report got it right? Can it help to break the cycle of violence? Or will it have little effect on the current situation?

---

This Talking Point has now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

We will probably never know the whole truth since this report is not based on an actual fact finding mission, which Israel rejected. Both parties have dug in their points of view.
Dora, Netherlands

The UN has got it exactly right,

Jon Cooper, UK

So the hysterical rantings about a massacre were predictably completely wrong. Anyone who has observed the Middle East with any degree of dispassion will see that the UN has got it exactly right, and both sides are to blame. Personally I do not believe what the spokesmen for either side claim or counter claim any more, it is virtually a war zone now, with propaganda to match from both sides.
Jon Cooper, UK

Israel blocks the deployment of independent observers in the region as well as timely and thorough investigations, so it has only itself to blame if speculations are wild, and widely believed. Since the UN was at first unable to make an immediate and independent assessment of the situation, it should have said so, refused to investigate further, and not issued this kind of report.
Dave, West, USA

I am glad the UN reached such a decision. It is hard to blame a state that wants to defend itself (Israel) against people who use their bodies as weapons and women and children as shields. What happened in Jenin is a very, very sad event but one, which could have been avoided, if the Palestinian people would have courage and replace their corrupt government.
Salvador, USA

Wasn't the UN, the organisation making the report, supposed to be responsible for the refugee camp where it happened? Do they accept their responsibility (never mind the Palestinians and the Israelis) for allowing the camp to become full of armed terrorists, bomb making factories, booby-traps etc, shielded by a civilian population, and all under the protection of the UN?
Peter, Spain

If this is not a crime then I don't know what is

Kamal, USA

What evidence is the report based upon? If war crimes weren't committed in Jenin then why was the UN fact-finding team refused access by Israel? According to Human Rights Watch the report is flawed since it isn't based upon any first-hand information. And when do we consider the murder of civilians a massacre? Does the number have to be above 50? War crimes were committed, medical personnel were refused entry, reporters kept out, and humanitarian aid was hindered. People bled to death because ambulances were prevented access to the wounded. If this is not a crime then I don't know what is.
Kamal, USA

Both parties are pathetic, neither of them is interested in peace. Like two novices they search for faults within the other's soul.
Khalid Rahim, Canada

The UN has become so useless and no-one will ever believe a word it comes up with. It is time for this organisation to go.
Mike Aziz, Vancouver, Canada

They never visited the scene

Foxy Stewart, Grenada

The UN cannot come to such conclusions when they were not allowed to visit Jenin. How can one conclude what happened at a crime scene when they never visited the scene? The UN must attempt to be more impartial; the UN lacks credibility.
Foxy Stewart, Grenada

Should the UN be believed? I would imagine so. Since the UN has passed more resolutions condemning the actions of the state of Israel than it has condemning the acts of all other nations combined, those who will try to argue that this report reflects only the UN's 'pro-Israeli' bias will have their work cut out for them.
Jack, USA

It is false, politically motivated claims like the so-called Jenin massacre that make the US Government worry about the international criminal court.
Richard, USA

The Palestinians have played this event for all it was worth. Their tactics will have done nothing nothing to help the cause of peace. Palestianians must find somebody who is capable of looking more than three hours ahead.
Simon Morgan, England

The UN has a credibility problem

James, Canada

The UN has a credibility problem as does the media as does the governments as do the corporation - who can we believe? The truth has become victim of spin doctoring and how this is going to correct itself over time is a giant question.
James, Canada

This finding will not make any difference. No finding will, because no party currently involved is accepted by both sides as impartial in this dispute. I wonder if even the Dalai Lama would be accepted as an adjudicator? But then, to accept an adjudicator, both sides would have to realise that force will avail them nothing, and neither side is even close to this realisation.
Paul Connor, Canada

I'm sure the UN got it right, these were impartial observers. I can't believe for a moment that it will break the cycle of violence. The Israelis are pleased with it, the Palestinians don't accept it. If the report said the evidence DID point to a massacre in Jenin, I'm sure that the same situation would occur with the Israelis disagreeing and the Palestinians welcoming it.
Dan W, UK

Israel's heavy-handed approach against Palestinian civilian targets should not go unpunished

Stephen G, Newcastle, UK

Israel should still be charged with war crimes. The death of one single person is far too many. Israel's heavy-handed approach against Palestinian civilian targets, due to the actions of a handful of militant Palestinians should not go unpunished. Some of the blame for the deaths lies at the feet of Mr Arafat, he should have taken positive steps towards arresting the terrorist and putting the militant groups out of action.
Stephen G, Newcastle, UK

Isn't it interesting how the "unbiased" BBC Talking Point team continue to highlight views such as Stephen G's, in which he says, that despite no evidence of a massacre, Israelis should be charged with war crimes. And no talk from him about charging Arafat who funds and green-lights these murders, with war crimes. How telling.
Anonymous

No one here has either the first-hand information nor the impartiality to say what really happened. In all likelihood, we will never know.
Guy Hammond, England

I find it strange that the Israelis didn't allow the UN to enter Jenin initially and only allowed them in several weeks later. I would also be interested to know the nationalities of the UN team - were they comprised of US and UK personnel, thus removing any sense of impartiality?
Mo, UK

The Palestinian authorities can't start bleating the minute a UN report goes against their version of events

Andrew, England

The Palestinian authorities can't start bleating the minute a UN report goes against their version of events. They are quite willing to cite UN resolutions and reports when it suits their own ends. Either the UN is a trustworthy source or it is not. To pick and choose what you want to hear is ridiculous. If the UN says there was no massacre then there wasn't one, it's as simple as that. The Palestinians should stop trying to convince the world they are innocent victims and get on with the task of co-operation and seeking an end to the violence.
Andrew, England

It is now clear that Palestinian claims of a massacre were false. We should now be asking why the media gave these lies such credence without any evidence to back them up?
Dave, Ireland