(FinalCall.com)�United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan named the members of a "fact-finding team" that was mandated by Security Council Resolution 1405 during their evening session on April 19, 2002. The resolution directed Secretary General Annan to develop accurate information regarding recent events in the Jenin refugee camp.

The team�s task is to gather information and submit a report presenting its findings and conclusions to Mr. Annan. The members are team leader Martti Antisaari, former president of Finland who has often had high-level UN positions; Mrs. Sadako Ogata, the former UN High Commissioner For Refugees; and Cornelia Somarruga, the former head of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

We hope the "fact-finding team" will be allowed to do their task unhindered by the Israeli government.

We say this because before the team was named, Israeli officials first were not in favor of such a mission, as if there was something to hide. Later, the Israeli government rejected three names for a proposed UN fact-finding team as unacceptable. Those names, according to UN officials, were Norwegian Tarje Roed-Larsen, Mr. Annan�s special envoy in the Middle East who criticized the Israeli army for the Jenin operation; Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; and Peter Hansen, the commissioner of the UN Relief and Works Agency responsible for Palestinian refugees. All of them have been publicly critical of the Israeli mission in Jenin. Germany has voiced its disapproval of Mr. Roed-Larsen�s rejection, saying it hopes Israel would not torpedo the fact-finding process.

Mr. Annan told reporters that he was disturbed by the public criticism of Mr. Roed-Larsen by representatives of the government of Israel. Mr. Astissari told reporters he would meet in Geneva, Switzerland, on April 24 with team members and proceed to Jenin. He said there was no specific time that the mission had to be completed.

Israel and the United States agreed to the mission on April 19, only after a phone conversation between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Mr. Annan. At that time the Arab Group had a resolution on the Security Council floor calling for a "full investigation" into what they have called a "massacre." The Israeli government has denied that more than 25 people died during their weeklong military offensive into the West Bank town. Palestinians say several hundred people may have died. Journalists were kept out of the area during the Israeli operation. In order to move the resolution forward, the compromise was to term the operation a "fact-finding" team.

In addition, Amnesty International has called for an international war crimes probe into the events in Jenin, where tanks and other large military equipment bulldozed homes. Some of the homes had civilians still in them when they were bulldozed. Reports are emerging that civilians were shot.

Amnesty said it believes that very serious breeches in international law were committed, saying that Palestinian civilian bodies were mixed along with combatants.

"We believe that Israel has a case to answer," is how Javier Zuniga, Amnesty�s regional director summed up the situation in Jenin.

Israel has faced heavy international scrutiny since its incursions into Jenin and parts of the West Bank. Israel also has been criticized for holding President Arafat a virtual prisoner in his half-demolished headquarters since December.

There must be no double standard in finding the truth in this instance. Mr. Sharon must not be allowed to think that he can continue to break international law with impunity.

He would have done well if he had heeded President Bush�s call to withdraw "immediately" from Jenin and the West Bank. But he ignored President Bush. He would do well to hear Secretary of State Colin Powell�s recent call to allow Mr. Arafat, a head of state, out of his home.

The recent Israeli trip did nothing in furthering the potential for peace in the Middle East. Now the international community must show that there will be no double standards in the investigation of Jenin. If war crimes were committed, then those responsible must be punished.