UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday that the United Nations will set up an office to register Palestinians' claims of damage caused by Israel's construction of a separation wall in the West Bank.

    A statement issued by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that Annan informed the General Assembly of his decision in letter, which set out a framework and the next moves for creating the registry office.

    The General Assembly called for the registry last summer after demanding that Israel comply with an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which called the barrierillegal and called for it to be torn down.

    Israel says it needs the barrier to keep out suicide bombers, but reports in which the UN has participated have underscored the damage caused to Palestinians both through loss of land and separation of villages from farmland as well as the overall drag on the Palestinian economy.

    In a background note, Annan's office said it is hoped the office will be set up in the occupied territory so that it will beclose to the people submitting damage claims. Details of staffing,size and cost remain to be worked out, and Annan proposed that it be financed through assessed contributions.

    The establishment and operation of the registry will require Israeli cooperation and the UN looks forward to such cooperation to facilitate its work, the note said.

    As to the possibility of specious claims being made, the register's purpose is merely to collect claims for possible futureadjudication and compensation, it added. Enditem