John Lyons, Middle East Correspondent February 19
A STOCKPILE of unexploded bombs being kept in a Hamas-controlled police compound in Gaza City has been stolen, raising serious concerns about how the explosives may be used.
The BBC revealed last night that the 11 unexploded Israeli bombs that were to be disposed of by the United Nations were found to have gone missing when UN officials arrived to inspect them last Sunday.
The report said that on February 2, the UN team had been given access to a storage site in Gaza City where more than 7000kg of explosives were being housed.
The explosives included aircraft bombs and white phosphorus shells that had been fired by Israel during the 22-day war in Gaza but did not explode on impact. The report said Israel had accused Hamas of taking the stockpile.
UN spokesman Richard Miron said the UN "obviously wants to track down this ordnance for its safe disposal".
He would not comment when asked whether the UN took any responsibility for the disappearance by not having placed its own full-time guards on the stockpile.
"The UN was endeavouring to dispose of this material," Mr Miron said. Three 2000-pound bombs and eight 500-pound bombs were part of the stockpile.
The UN Mines Action Team had been in Gaza since the war ended.
One source in Gaza told The Australian that although the bombs had not exploded, they were still dangerous if somebody placed a charge on them.
"Then basically you have IEDs," he said, a reference to improvised explosion devices that are often buried in roads in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan and detonated when military or other vehicles drove over them.
Talks were continuing between Hamas and UN officials for the recovery of the material.
The source, who asked not to be named, said those running the police compound had been nervous about housing such a large amount of explosives, given that several police stations had been bombed during the Gaza offensive. He said the UN had been waiting for Israeli approval before moving them to a safe site and detonating them -- such approval was necessary because if the Israelis had seen from aerial surveillance a large amount of explosives being moved, they might have thought they were part of a Hamas operation and attacked. The UN had been awaiting approval when the bombs were stolen.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres was set last night to receive official results of last week's election.
He is then expected to spend two days speaking to leaders of the major parties and various factions in Israeli politics before deciding on whom he believes has the greatest chance of forming a stable coalition government. In last week's election, the centrist party Kadima, led by Tzipi Livni, won 28 seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, while the right-wing Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, won 27.
However, the Right-bloc of parties, including Likud and the religious party Shas, won more than the Centre-Left bloc.
Mr Peres is expected to opt for Mr Netanyahu, who appears to have locked in the support of smaller parties.
A STOCKPILE of unexploded bombs being kept in a Hamas-controlled police compound in Gaza City has been stolen, raising serious concerns about how the explosives may be used.
The BBC revealed last night that the 11 unexploded Israeli bombs that were to be disposed of by the United Nations were found to have gone missing when UN officials arrived to inspect them last Sunday.
The report said that on February 2, the UN team had been given access to a storage site in Gaza City where more than 7000kg of explosives were being housed.
The explosives included aircraft bombs and white phosphorus shells that had been fired by Israel during the 22-day war in Gaza but did not explode on impact. The report said Israel had accused Hamas of taking the stockpile.
UN spokesman Richard Miron said the UN "obviously wants to track down this ordnance for its safe disposal".
He would not comment when asked whether the UN took any responsibility for the disappearance by not having placed its own full-time guards on the stockpile.
"The UN was endeavouring to dispose of this material," Mr Miron said. Three 2000-pound bombs and eight 500-pound bombs were part of the stockpile.
The UN Mines Action Team had been in Gaza since the war ended.
One source in Gaza told The Australian that although the bombs had not exploded, they were still dangerous if somebody placed a charge on them.
"Then basically you have IEDs," he said, a reference to improvised explosion devices that are often buried in roads in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan and detonated when military or other vehicles drove over them.
Talks were continuing between Hamas and UN officials for the recovery of the material.
The source, who asked not to be named, said those running the police compound had been nervous about housing such a large amount of explosives, given that several police stations had been bombed during the Gaza offensive. He said the UN had been waiting for Israeli approval before moving them to a safe site and detonating them -- such approval was necessary because if the Israelis had seen from aerial surveillance a large amount of explosives being moved, they might have thought they were part of a Hamas operation and attacked. The UN had been awaiting approval when the bombs were stolen.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres was set last night to receive official results of last week's election.
He is then expected to spend two days speaking to leaders of the major parties and various factions in Israeli politics before deciding on whom he believes has the greatest chance of forming a stable coalition government. In last week's election, the centrist party Kadima, led by Tzipi Livni, won 28 seats in the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, while the right-wing Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, won 27.
However, the Right-bloc of parties, including Likud and the religious party Shas, won more than the Centre-Left bloc.
Mr Peres is expected to opt for Mr Netanyahu, who appears to have locked in the support of smaller parties.
Source: The Australian
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