As the international community scrambles to develop plans for inserting an observer force in the disputed territories, the US-led fact-finding committee came and went with little fanfare, leading many in Israel to wonder if the committee will really help reduce the Palestinian violence.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry was “shocked” to learn that members of the US-led Mitchell fact-finding committee had visited the Temple Mount on Sunday without Israeli knowledge and accompanied by Islamic Waqf officials.
Israel has frozen cooperation with the Mitchell Committee appointed to investigate the causes of the current violence, following an unauthorized visit by the committee’s technical team to the Temple Mount last week.
The US-led Mitchell Committee got a close-up look at the renewed intifada during its tour of Israel and Palestinian areas and headed home on Sunday to finish its report on the causes of the last six months of violence.