A/HRC/5/11 Page 2 1. On 6 July 2006 the Human Rights Council adopted resolution S-1/1 in which it decided to “dispatch an urgent fact-finding mission [to the Occupied Palestinian Territory] headed by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967”. The resolution failed to provide details of the mandate. In particular, it failed to indicate which facts were to be investigated. The preamble, however, suggests that the purpose was to examine the humanitarian consequences of the Israel Defence Forces’ (IDF) “Operation Summer Rains” in Gaza and the arrest of Palestinian legislators in the West Bank. Also, the resolution contained no reporting obligation (unlike Human Rights Council resolution S-3/1, entitled "Human rights violations emanating from Israeli military incursions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the recent one in northern Gaza and the assault on Beit Hanoun".) 2. At the time that the resolution was being debated, I communicated with the proposers of the resolution and suggested to them that someone other than myself be mandated to carry out the mission, as it was unlikely that Israel would consent to such a mission under my direction in the light of my critical reports on Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The proposers of the resolution did not heed my suggestion and instead continued with their resolution, directing me to carry out the fact-finding mission. 3. Unperturbed by the flaws in resolution S-1/1, and the likelihood that Israel would refuse to consent to the mission, I went ahead and prepared for the mission, ably assisted by the staff of OHCHR. For this purpose I constituted a mission comprising of myself, a health expert and a security expert, together with interpreters and OHCHR staff. Details of these preparations are contained in my report to the Human Rights Council of 20 December 2006 (see A/HRC/4/116, entitled “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 pursuant to resolution 3/1 of the Human Rights Council”). 4. Under the terms of General Assembly resolution 46/59, no fact-finding mission may be undertaken without the consent of the State to be investigated. The Government of Israel, despite representations from the President of the Human Rights Council, failed to respond positively to requests for the mission to take place, as I had predicted to the proposers of the resolution. On 8 August 2006, I wrote to the President requesting him to inform the Human Rights Council that Israel had failed to consent to the mission and that as far as I was concerned the mission could not proceed (see A/HRC/4/116). 5. From 1 to 8 December 2006 I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory in my capacity as Special Rapporteur. As on previous visits, the Government of Israel placed no obstacles in the way of my visit and indeed on occasion facilitated my visit by issuing me a “To Whom It May Concern” letter instructing Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officers at crossings and checkpoints to allow me free passage. However, as in the past, the Government of Israel refused to meet with me, as it does not recognize my mandate. In writing to the Government of Israel about my proposed visit in December, as a matter of courtesy, I assured the Government that I intended visiting in my capacity as Special Rapporteur and not in my capacity as head of the fact-finding mission mandated by resolution S-1/1. I am confident that without such an assurance I would not have been permitted to enter Israel. 6. During my December visit to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, I visited Gaza and examined the consequences of both “Operation Summer Rains” and “Operation Autumn