HIGHLIGHTS: Israeli Occupation Troops Fire Tank Shells Killing 4 Palestinians Including a 2-Year Old Toddler-- Annan to Wait for Reaction From UN Security Council Before Calling Off Probe--Arab Nations Circulate Draft Resolution Calling on Council to Act Under Chapter VII of UN Charter--Israeli Press Reports Quote Israeli Soldiers Admitting Atrocities Against Palestinians STORY: In the face of arrogant Israeli objections and flagrant defiance to the will of the International community, UN Chief, Kofi Annan appears to be preparing to call off the UN Jenin Probe Mission . (Read photo caption). Meanwhile reports from the territories speak of occupation soldiers firing tank shells Killing four Palestinians including a 2-year old girl in clashes between Israeli occupation forces and Palestinians in Rafah, near the Gaza Strip's southern border with Egypt.

The toddler and a 25-year-old man were killed when a tank fired at houses near the border. Seven people were wounded, six of them from the girl's Bedouin family.

Another Palestinian man was killed and three people wounded in a gun battle which erupted when Israeli tanks entered about 200 meters into Rafah early on Wednesday.

The Israeli occupation army meanwhile claimed that it has killed a Palestinian bomber who was trying to set off roadside bomb aimed against an Israeli armored vehicle patrolling the border. According to the source a second would-be bomber ran away and a third was arrested.

ANNAN MAY DISBAN JENIN MISSION

Facing strong Israeli objections, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday he is "inclined to disband" a U.N. fact-finding team that was to look into Israel's military assault on the Jenin refugee camp.

Israel's security Cabinet decided Tuesday not to cooperate with the U.N. inquiry until six Israeli demands had been met regarding the mandate and composition of the team. The team's departure from Geneva has been delayed since Saturday by Israeli objections.

However, Annan said he would wait for reaction from the powerful U.N. Security Council, which will meet late Wednesday, before he formally calls the team back from Geneva.

Annan's statement came at the end of a day of strong suggestions that the mission is all but over.

Undersecretary-General Kieran Prendergast said earlier that "a thorough, credible and balanced report on recent events in Jenin refugee camp would not be possible without the cooperation of the government of Israel."

NO ACTION FROM UN SECURITY COUNCIL YET

The Security Council met late Tuesday to consider the dispute, but took no action.
Arab nations circulated a new draft resolution late Tuesday that demands Israel immediately receive the fact-finding team.

The draft resolution declares that the situation in the region constitutes "a threat to international peace and security" and would authorize the council to act under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, which allows the use of military force.

A resolution in this form would almost certainly be vetoed by the United States, Israel's closest ally.

Israel initially agreed on April 19 to the formation of the fact-finding team, when Peres stressed the country had "nothing to hide." But it then raised questions over the composition of the team, its scope of inquiry, who can be called as a witness and what documents will be presented to the panel.

Israel insists that its soldiers be protected from prosecution.

ISRAELI ARMY OFFICERS & SOLDIERS ADMIT ATROCITIES AGAINST PALESTINIANS

Reports in the Israeli press quoted soldiers participating in the attack as saying they were under orders to shoot at people and houses even if they were not shot at.

Meanwhile, Israeli military sources admitted the systematic destruction of Palestinian property during the recent military operations in the West Bank.

"There were indeed wide-scale, ugly phenomena of vandalism," a senior military source told Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz.

The paper reported that another military source said that the Israeli army had to undertake a full investigation into the matter.

For its part, the Israeli army declined to comment on the Ha'aretz report. It, however, confirmed that five soldiers were charged with vandalism or looting.

A spokesman said investigations have been launched into other cases

PHOTO CAPTION

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan talks to diplomats during the opening ceremony of an exhibition "From the National Solidarity Fund to the World Solidarity Fund" at the United Nations headquarters in New York Tuesday, April 30, 2002. Facing strong Israeli objections, Annan is considering disbanding a U.N. fact-finding team that was to look into Israel's military assault on the Jenin refugee camp, a senior U.N. official said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Osamu Honda)