By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent

United Nations -- After holding emergency consultations on Israel's refusal to allow a UN fact-finding mission into the Jenin refugee camp, the Security Council April 28 backed Secretary General Kofi Annan's efforts to get the team into the area as soon as possible.

Security Council President Sergey Lavrov of Russia said that "the members of the council remain firm in their insistence on full implementation of resolution 1405. They are concerned at the continued delay in the arrival of the fact-finding team."

The council members "strongly support the secretary general in his efforts to ensure the immediate deployment of the fact-finding team to Jenin with the full cooperation of Israel and the Palestinian Authority," Lavrov said.

The council has scheduled another meeting for April 29 to get another update on the talks. "The members of the council expect a positive report from the secretary general by 29 April, that is tomorrow," the council president said.

Lavrov also called in Israeli Ambassador Yehuda Lancry to inform him of the council's decision.

The secretary general first agreed to delay the departure of the mission until April 27 after Israel said that it wanted further discussion on the team's mandate and composition. Annan then agreed to another delay to give the Israeli cabinet an opportunity to approve the mission.

Representatives of Israel's Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, and Defense Forces met with UN officials from the offices of peacekeeping operations and legal affairs on April 25 and 26. Undersecretary General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast chaired the sessions.

Prendergast briefed in the council on the latest developments April 28.

In the meantime, the team, headed by Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, has been in Geneva preparing for its departure to the Middle East and had expected to leave for the region on April 28. Its departure was delayed after the Israeli cabinet said that conditions were "not yet right" for the mission to take place.

Annan then asked the council for another 24 hours to try to work things out with Israel.

The secretary general spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Perez twice during the day.

During the one-hour private meeting April 28, council members were supportive of the secretary general's approach to the talks and his demand that the group be allowed in as soon as possible, diplomats said.

During the consultations, Prendergast reported that the issues revolved around whom the UN team would have access to on the Israeli side, the team's freedom of movement in the West Bank and in the Jenin camp, and the presence of Israeli officials in meetings between the team and non-Palestinians, diplomats said.