"A UN panel dedicated to fighting racism has decided to review Palestinian complaints that Israel's policies in the West Bank amount to apartheid, despite the global body's legal adviser having previously said it doesn't have the authority to deal with the matter, Channel 13 news reported Monday.
Senior Foreign Ministry sources told the station that Israel has not yet decided if it will cooperate with an expected summons to a hearing at the Geneva-based United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), or boycott the proceedings.
The report said the CERD decided last week to look into Palestinian claims filed last year. After the complaints were first raised the CERD sought the opinion of the UN's legal adviser, who ruled it did not have the authority to handle the subject. However, on December 12 the committee decided to accept the Palestinian complaints and probe the issue.
The committee is expected to attempt mediation between Israel and the Palestinians on the claims, the report said. Both sides are likely to be summoned for a hearing, after which the committee will rule on the matter and publish recommendations.
A Foreign Ministry source noted that Israel had fully cooperated with the committee on the question of its authority 'but after the committee didn't accept the opinion of the UN legal adviser, it is not clear if there is any point in cooperating with this process.'..."