Tutu mission to probe Beit Hanoun deaths cancelled

GENEVA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A UN mission to be led by South Africa's Desmond Tutu to probe last month's deaths of 19 civilians in Gaza under Israeli shelling has been called off because Israel did not authorise the trip, a spokeswoman said today.

The Nobel Peace laureate, who was asked to head the team by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, had other engagements and could not wait any longer for Israeli permission, she added.

''It has been cancelled. We were supposed to go yesterday (Sunday),'' spokeswoman Sonia Bakar said.

The United Nations' top human rights body condemned the November 8 deaths at Beit Hanoun and last month voted to send a mission to investigate the incident.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Israel had investigated and acknowledged its mistakes in the incident, seeing no role for the UN mission.

''The commission was sent on the premise that Israel targets civilians and it did not take into account the daily rocket fire targeting Israeli civilians.'' The 47-state Human Rights Council, which in June replaced the UN's discredited Human Rights Commission, has already passed seven resolutions condemning Israeli actions in Palestinian territory and in Lebanon and held three special sessions dedicated to Israel.

Although Israel, which is not a member of the Council, has accepted visits by special UN investigators on human rights, it has never agreed to any mission of inquiry from either the Commission or its Council successor.

Tutu, the former archbishop of Cape Town, was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984 for his fight against apartheid. He had been due to report back to the Council by the end of this week.

REUTERS BDP KP1658