UN backtracks on claim that deadly IDF strike hit Gaza school

[Yoink 7]

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1061189.html

The United Nations has reversed its stance on one of the most contentious and bloody incidents of the recent Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza, saying that an IDF mortar strike that killed 43 people on January 6 did not hit one of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency schools after all.

It seems that the UN has been under pressure to put the record straight after doubts arose that the school had actually been targeted. Maxwell Gaylord, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Jerusalem, said Monday that the IDF mortar shells fell in the street near the compound, and not on the compound itself.

Gaylord said that the UN "would like to clarify that the shelling and all of the fatalities took place outside and not inside the school."

UNRWA, an agency whose sole purpose is to work with Palestinian refugees, said in response Tuesday that it had maintained from the day of attack that the wounded were outside of the school compound. UNRWA said that the source of the mistake in recent weeks had originated with a separate branch of the United Nations.

Senior IDF officials had previously expressed skepticism that the school had been struck, saying that two mortar shells could not kill 43 people and wound dozens more.

Questions about the veracity of the claims that the school had been hit by the IDF were also raised last week by the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. The newspaper said that a teacher in the UNRWA compound at the time of the strike "was adamant" that no people had been killed inside the compound.

The newspaper quoted the teacher as saying that, "I could see some of the people had been injured... But when I got outside, it was crazy hell. There were bodies everywhere, people dead, injured, flesh everywhere."

The newspaper said that the teacher had been told by the UN not to speak to the media. "Three of my students were killed," he said. "But they were all outside."

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

That's what I read originally - the shells landed near the school, not on the school itself.

Which still doesn't explain why the IDF released that old footage of militants to spin the story.

[Yoink 7]

That's what I read originally - the shells landed near the school, not on the school itself.

Which still doesn't explain why the IDF released that old footage of militants to spin the story.

in case the claims were true. there is a PR war to be won as well in any conflict. more so in any Israeli conflict. but that doesn't overshadow a supposedly impartial, neutral world bodies' behavior towards one nation.

[sereia 0]

but that doesn't overshadow a supposedly impartial, neutral world bodies' behavior towards one nation.

LOL!

[Peikko 1,575]

That's what I read originally - the shells landed near the school, not on the school itself.

Which still doesn't explain why the IDF released that old footage of militants to spin the story.

in case the claims were true. there is a PR war to be won as well in any conflict. more so in any Israeli conflict. but that doesn't overshadow a supposedly impartial, neutral world bodies' behavior towards one nation.

Indeed. They need to be able to operate above the spin and rhetoric or they become another part of the problem. There are no easy solutions to this. Sadly, there are too many political figures persuing their own selfish agendas at the expense of ordinary people who just want to have the opportunity to lead a normal life. Very sad.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

That's what I read originally - the shells landed near the school, not on the school itself.

Which still doesn't explain why the IDF released that old footage of militants to spin the story.

in case the claims were true. there is a PR war to be won as well in any conflict. more so in any Israeli conflict. but that doesn't overshadow a supposedly impartial, neutral world bodies' behavior towards one nation.

Actual meaning of the acronym UN is "useless numpties"--as they have proven repeatedly to be since 1945!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

That's what I read originally - the shells landed near the school, not on the school itself.

Which still doesn't explain why the IDF released that old footage of militants to spin the story.

in case the claims were true. there is a PR war to be won as well in any conflict. more so in any Israeli conflict. but that doesn't overshadow a supposedly impartial, neutral world bodies' behavior towards one nation.

But they weren't true... They were true when the building was used by militants a year or two before, but not at the time of the incident.

Mistakes can certainly be made (this one sounds like a case of two sources conflicting each other) - but surely owning up to them in the first place is more forgivable than trying to deliberately spin them into something they're not.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Mistakes can certainly be made (this one sounds like a case of two sources conflicting each other) - but surely owning up to them in the first place is more forgivable than trying to deliberately spin them into something they're not.

Since you're dealing with a UN claim now (bolded is UN's only demonstrated "success" so far), Edited February 3, 2009 by CherryXS

[Peikko 1,575]

I think a simplistic approach to what the UN does is not very helpful. However, as I said, they do need to be aware of, and remain above spin and rhetoric that pushes them out of neutrality.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Mistakes can certainly be made (this one sounds like a case of two sources conflicting each other) - but surely owning up to them in the first place is more forgivable than trying to deliberately spin them into something they're not.

Since you're dealing with a UN claim now (bolded is UN's only demonstrated "success" so far),

I was addressing the IDF trying to deliberately spin the issue when it was first reported.

You don't like the UN. I think we all get that.

They're certainly not beyond criticism.

[Peikko 1,575]

Examples of simplistic assessments of the role of the UN:

The UN have failed to maintain world peace since inception, therefore they are useless.

The UN has failed to impose the declaration of Human Rights on the whole world, therefore they are useless.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Examples of simplistic assessments of the role of the UN:

The UN have failed to maintain world peace since inception, therefore they are useless.

The UN has failed to impose the declaration of Human Rights on the whole world, therefore they are useless.

The UN tour in NYC is actually quite interesting. A lot of emphasis gets put on the perceived political ineptitude and duplicity of the UN and its members - but UN institutions actually do a lot of good work - like ensuring access to supplies of potable water).

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Hey I pay for my own water, clearly the UN failed at that too.

[Peikko 1,575]

They are involved in much of the third world education programs, particularly for children and an awful lot of humanitarian aid work. The list is pretty long of useful achievements.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

My teachers weren't UN employees either. Failed again!