WASHINGTON Ñ The United Nations has acknowledged what it termed were "serious errors of judgement" in the failure to inform Israel of videotapes relating to the abduction of three Israeli soldiers in October.

The UN report, prepared by undersecretary-general for management Joseph Connor, was reviewed by secretary-general Kofi Annan last week. Annan has offered Israel and Lebanon edited version of two videotapes made on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8.

The report acknowledges that for eight months the UN concealed the existence of the videotapes from Israel. Neither videotape is said to show the abduction, but the report raises the prospect that the soldiers had died in the Hizbullah operation.

"It is clear that serious errors of judgement were made, in particular by those who failed to convey information to the Israelis which would have been helpful in an assessment of the condition of the three abducted soldiers," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

Annan also offered to show Israel and Lebanon items recovered from UN vehicles used by Hizbullah to whisk away the captured Israeli soldiers. He vowed to order measures to improve communications between the UN chain of command and member governments.

The secretary-general said he will pursue the Hizbullah use of UN vehicles in the abduction. He did not say whether any action would be taken against the Indian contingent, members of whom were said to have cooperated with the abduction.

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