Secretary-General Annan Lays Wreath on Arafat's Grave
BY BENNY AVNI - Special to the Sun
March 15, 2005

UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Annan, who, along with other world leaders, will attend an opening ceremony of the new Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem today, paid his respects to the late Yasser Arafat yesterday.
Attempting to strike a balance, Mr. Annan met with Prime Minister Sharon, as well as Palestinian Arab leader Mahmoud Abbas, praising Israel for its separation plan and promising support to Palestinian Arabs in their struggle against Israel's security barrier.
Mr. Annan's remarks on the security fence raised more Israeli concerns than his visit to Arafat's grave, where he laid a wreath. Everybody, including Abbas, sees this as an empty ritual, Mr. Sharon's spokesman, Raanan Gissin, told The New York Sun.
Saying that the U.N. needs to allow for historic justice for the Jewish people, Mr. Annan encouraged Mr. Sharon to continue implementing of his separation plan, Mr. Gissin said. Completing construction on the barrier at the West Bank, however, is seen by Israel as an integral component of the plan, which calls for uprooting all Jewish settlements in Gaza and several in the West Bank.
Alongside the Palestinian Arab foreign minister Nasser al Kidwa, who is Arafat's nephew, Mr. Annan was asked about the U.N.'s condemnation of Israel's security barrier, which has been declared illegal by the General Assembly and the Hague, Netherlands-based International Court of Justice. Mr. Annan confirmed that he intended to establish a U.N. mechanism, ordered by the ICJ, to register Arab damage claims resulting from the security barrier's construction.
Jewish settlers and their supporters yesterday demonstrated against Mr. Sharon's plan to evacuate the settlements, blocking a major Tel Aviv traffic artery. American supporters of the settlers, headed by Democratic state Assemblyman Dov Hikind of Brooklyn, were detained for more than an hour in Ben Gurion airport yesterday, as Israeli authorities cautioned them against visiting Gaza's Jewish bloc of Gush Katif.
Mr. Annan yesterday also addressed the staff of a Gaza-based agency dedicated to Palestinian Arabs the U.N. considers to have refugee status. He praised the nine-year outstanding service of Peter Hansen, who will end his term as head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency this month. Under American and Israeli pressure, Mr. Annan recently refused to renew Mr. Hansen's tenure, after he had publicly admitted Unrwa had employed Hamas members.
Peter nobly indicated his willingness to stay on, Mr. Annan told Unrwa's Gaza staff, which is primarily composed of Palestinian Arabs. But I believe it is the right moment to look for a new leader to shoulder the burden. U.N. Spokesman Fred Eckhard said yesterday that Mr. Annan is assembling a shortlist of candidates to replace Mr. Hansen.
In addition to Mr. Annan, today's Yad Vashem opening in Jerusalem will be attended by European heads of state. Turkey is the only Muslim state attending. The Bush administration is represented by Mayor Bloomberg.