Rights mission denied access to Jenin

A SCOTTISH forensic professor, who travelled to the Middle East this week as part of an investigation into claims of a humanitarian disaster, has been denied access to Jenin refugee camp.

Derrick Pounder, professor of forensic medicine at the University of Dundee, sought access to the West Bank camp to gather evidence about the fate of those who died in a week-long Israeli siege. Palestinians claim up to 500 people died in the devastated camp, site of some of the fiercest fighting of an Israeli offensive launched on March 29 after a spate of suicide bombings.

Israel puts the death toll in the tens, not hundreds.

The Amnesty International mission hoped to explore claims that thousands of people in the camp are still trapped without water, food, and basic medical supplies.

Professor Pounder said the refusal to grant access raised questions about the motives of the Israeli authorities.