(Ha'aretz) Barak Ravid - The UN's top Mideast envoy, Robert Serry, wants to station between 250 and 500 international monitors in Gaza, European diplomats and senior Israeli officials say. A senior Israeli official said 50 UN monitors are already in Ramallah and ready to go to Gaza. The monitors would be stationed at major construction zones and at storage sites for construction materials like cement and concrete, and dual-use materials such as metal pipes or iron rods. Monitors would also be at sites where heavy mechanical equipment is parked. The function of the international monitors would be to ensure that construction materials and heavy equipment would be used solely to rebuild Gaza and wouldn't reach Hamas for digging tunnels or building bunkers. Israel is willing to allow massive amounts of building materials to enter Gaza in exchange for UN monitoring. A senior Israeli official said the system would also include the installation of security cameras at Palestinian building supply and storage facilities, and heavy equipment locations.
2014-09-22 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive