The United Nations opened on Tuesday a registry for Palestinians to claim compensation for damage caused by Israel's construction of the barrier separating it with the Palestinian population. The registry would probably be set up in an U.N. office in the West Bank. Details of the staffing, size and cost of the office will be decided by U.N. Secretary-General. The U.N. General Assembly, which requested the registry, will provide the budget for the office. It was not clear who would pay the compensations. The U.N. said it hopes Israel would cooperate in the work of the registry. Anat Friedman, a spokeswoman for the Israeli mission to the U.N. in New York, declined to say whether her government would cooperate. She said only, "We are studying the issue." Creation of the panel was connected to a ruling last year by the International Court of Justice that ruled against Israel's building the barrier. The case was brought by several Arab countries, including Egypt. The court said Israel is under an obligation to return the land, orchards, olive groves and other property seized from the Palestinians. --More 0010 Local Time 2110 GMT
