Reply #29: Tutu still awaiting Israeli entry visa to probe Beit Hanun deaths

[Scurrilous]

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"A United Nations fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip that was to be led by Desmond Tutu is in doubt because Israel has yet to give the Nobel laureate permission to enter the territory, officials said Friday.

Tutu was to begin leading a six-member team this weekend in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun to investigate the killings of 19 civilians in an errant Israel Defense Forces shelling last month.

But Israel has yet to grant the South African anti-apartheid campaigner and former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town the necessary travel clearance, said three different officials close to the talks between the global body and Israel.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions were continuing, said they had yet to receive any indication from Israel that the mission will take place at all."

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