Questions going unanswered over "Israeli" wartime air strike that killed UN observers

Source: AFP, 11-11-2006
HELSINKI: Finland on Friday accepted that an "Israeli" bombardment of a UN post in Lebanon in which four observers were killed, including one Finn, was accidental but said questions still remained. "On the basis of the material available, the Khiam expert group has no reason to question `Israel`s` explanation that the destruction of Patrol Base Khiam resulted from an error," a panel of military and diplomatic experts concluded.
"Nor does the expert group have any evidence that the attack on the UN in Khiam was intentional," it added.
But it regretted that on a number of technical military queries put to both "Israel" and the UN "no written replies were received."
Outstanding questions remain about the position of the "Israeli" forces near the South Lebanon border town of Khiam, the number of troops on observation duty and internal communications during the operation.
"It is not possible to form a full and detailed picture of the destruction of Patrol Base Khiam on the basis of the reports provided," the experts said.
Finnish Premier Matti Vanhanen also said the "`Israeli` and UN reports [on the attack] are logical but not exhaustive."
Despite these questions going unanswered, however, "the conclusions would have stood as they are," said the head of judicial affairs at the Finnish Foreign Ministry, Irma Ertman.
Four UN observers - from Austria, Canada, China and Finland - were killed during the "Israeli" bombardment of their post on the 13th day of the month-long "Israeli" war on Lebanon.
The post was destroyed by a 500 kilogram precision-guided bomb on July 25, according to findings in a UN report published in September.
Tel Aviv claimed "a computer problem" which resulted in the UN post being "chosen as one of the targets for the `Israeli` Army," the experts` report said.
"Israeli" forces "should have paid greater attention to its air force targeting after receiving warnings through the communications channels of UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping operation in Lebanon, about bombings that could jeopardize the safety of UN bases," the report added.
"The decision not to monitor the use of fire when the intended target of artillery and air-force fire is situated only a few kilometers from "Israeli" territory is surprising," according to the report.
Helsinki put together an expert panel to examine the UN and "Israeli" reports into the incident after losing one of its nationals in the incident and not in its capacity as the current president of the EU.