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| UN council endorses damning Gaza report | |||
| 2009-10-16 | |||
THE UN Human Rights Council has endorsed a report that accuses Israel and the Palestinian hardliners Hamas of war crimes in the Gaza conflict, dealing a fresh diplomatic blow to the Jewish state.
Twenty-five of the Human Rights Council's 47 members, led by Arab and African states, voted for the resolution on Friday. Six, including the United States, voted against while 16 others either abstained or did not vote. The resolution calls for the endorsement of "the recommendations contained in the report" produced by a fact-finding mission led by international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone to probe the 22-day conflict. It also "calls upon all concerned parties including United Nations bodies, to ensure their implementation". Mr Goldstone concluded that both Israel and Hamas, Gaza's rulers, committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the conflict launched by Israel in response to rocket fire from the enclave in late December 2008. The report also recommends referring its conclusions to the International Criminal Court prosecutor in The Hague, if Israel and Hamas fail to conduct credible investigations within six months.
Welcoming the outcome, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said the international action should not end there over the conflict, which erupted on December 27, 2008, and left 1400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead. "We hope this will be followed up in the UN Security Council to ensure such Israeli crimes are not repeated," Mr Erakat said. Hamas also approved the move, thanking the nations that voted to endorse the report. "We hope that vote will lead to a trial of the occupation leaders," said Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu, although he did not react to the fact that the Goldstone report also accused his group of war crimes.
"The Israeli army acted with silk gloves towards innocent (civilians)," he said. The Israeli foreign ministry said the resolution "impairs both the effort to protect human rights in accordance with international law, and the effort to promote peace in the Middle East". "This resolution provides encouragement for terrorist organisations worldwide and undermines global peace," it said in a statement. Ahead of the vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged the council to reject the resolution. "Responsible nations have to vote against this decision that supports terror and harms peace," Netanyahu told reporters after a meeting with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero late on Thursday. Explaining Washington's reasons for opposing the resolution, US ambassador Douglas Griffiths said: "We had worked for a resolution that recognised the right of a state to take legitimate action to protect its citizens in the face of threats to their security while also condemning violations of international law regardless of the actor. "Regrettably, this is not the resolution that is before us today." | |||
| Posted by:tipper |
| #1 It's the U.N. Human Rights Council. It has often been criticized for its bias against Israel. File in the "Water is Wet" and the "Sun comes up in the East" category. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2009-10-16 16:30 |