JERUSALEM, May 5 (UPI) -- A U.N. report contending Israel deliberately attacked its facilities during the military incursion into Gaza is "patently biased," Israeli officials say.
A U.N. inspection committee report looking into the damages sustained by buildings and convoys operated by the international body in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead has yet to be released, but the Israeli Foreign Ministry Tuesday nevertheless released a statement condemning it, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The statement cited Israel's own investigations of damages to U.N. facilities, saying they "proved beyond doubt that the (military) did not intentionally fire at the U.N. installations," adding the as-yet-unreleased U.N. report is "tendentious, patently biased, and ignores the facts presented to the committee."
The Foreign Ministry also cited a letter that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is "expected" to submit along with the committee report in which Ban praises the "close cooperation accorded the inspection team by the Israeli authorities" and the "coordination between Israeli forces and the U.N. during Operation Cast Lead," the Post said.
Israel reportedly says the U.N. team was "misleading the world" by citing the claims of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which Israel targeted in the 22-day day Gaza incursion.
