Israel, UN reach tentative Gaza compensation deal
AFP
UNITED NATIONS - Israel and the United Nations have reached a tentative accord on terms of a compensation deal for damage caused to UN facilities during the Jewish state's military offensive in the Gaza Strip a year ago, a UN spokesman said Thursday.
Martin Nesirky said talks between the two sides "are at very advanced stage" and that an agreement was "reached in principle on the terms of an arrangement under which Israel would make a payment to the UN."
The rubble in UNRWA's warehouse (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) destroyed during the Israeli attack
According to the BBC website, Israel is to pay 10 million dollars in compensation, which will mark the first time the Jewish state has paid for the damage caused during its Gaza offensive, which was launched December 27, 2008.
More than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the three-week assault, which Israel said was aimed at halting Palestinian rocket fire from the coastal enclave where the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in June 2007.
In one of the most controversial events involving UN buildings, a drone missile struck a school run by the world body on January 5, 2009, killing three young men from the same family.
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