Annan Will Not Meet Israeli Delegation to Discuss Jenin Investigation Team

NEW YORK: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he will not negotiate with Israel on the makeup of the U.N. fact-finding team he named to investigate what happened at the Jenin refugee camp.

Reports, evidence and eyewitnesses indicate that the Israeli forces massacred civilians - a charge Israel has repeatedly denied.

Israel says the team was set up with the goal of finding Israel at fault, and it is demanding changes in the team's leadership. The team's departure for the region has been delayed while Israeli envoys go to U.N. headquarters in New York to explain their objections. The Israeli delegation is due there on Thursday.

But U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard says Mr. Annan will not be meeting with the Israelis. He says Israel had indicated it would cooperate with whatever team Mr. Annan named, and that the secretary-general feels it members were his to choose. He says Mr. Annan expects the fact-finding team to be in place by Saturday.