Israeli delegation to view Lebanon videotape at UN's Geneva headquarters

An Israeli delegation will have a second look at videotapes and related items that could shed light on the condition of three Israeli soldiers abducted on the Israeli-Lebanese border last year, a United Nations spokesman said today.

As agreed with the Government of Israel during discussions held recently in New York, the screening will take place tomorrow morning at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

Arrangements are also being made by the UN World Health Organization (WHO) to facilitate the analysis of the bloodstained items in the UN's possession, with a view to determining whether the blood belongs to the Israeli soldiers, Mr. Eckhard said. Israel has been asked to provide the necessary relevant information.

On 8 August, an Israeli delegation, led by Ambassador Yehuda Lancry and including General Dani Arditi and four other Israeli officials, watched a screening at UN Headquarters in New York of two videotapes turned over by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

One of the videos was filmed by UNIFIL peacekeepers the day after the abduction of three Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah on 7 October 2000. The second was recorded by an unidentified person and shows the shelling of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) posts on 7 October, three to four kilometres from the abduction site, as well as activity in a UNIFIL shelter. Neither tape contains footage of the abduction itself.

The first delegation was also shown bloodstained items found in the vehicles allegedly used in the abduction.