30 sept 2009
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to present a proposal to his cabinet Thursday for the establishment of an investigative committee to probe the findings of the Goldstone Commission report on the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas. The report, which accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the Israel Defense Forces’ three-week offensive in the Gaza Strip this January, was formally presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council Tuesday.
The Palestinian Authority is urging the council to adopt the Goldstone Commission report in full and pass it on to the General Assembly for action.
Top officials in Jerusalem have stated that the report is full of lies and distortions, which demand an examination of how Goldstone arrived at his conclusions.
Sources in Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s bureau denied Wednesday reports that Barak had called for the establishment of an investigative committee into the Goldstone report, but confirmed that Barak asked former Israel Chief Justice Aharon Barak to support efforts to challenge the UN report’s findings.
In an op-ed piece which appeared Friday in the Wall Street Journal, Barak slammed criticism of the Israel Defense Forces during the offensive as “a theater of the absurd.”
On Tuesday, a British court deferred until further notice an appeal by local pro-Palestinian groups to issue an arrest warrant against Barak for his conduct as defense minister during Operation Cast Lead. Israel launched the three-week offensive in December, in an effort to halt rocket fire on its southern communities, but came under fierce criticism for the conduct of its soldiers during the operation.
The president of one of Israel’s leading academic institutions warned Tuesday that if Israel does not investigate the operation in Gaza, it will be forced to do so by the international community.
“A commission headed by a Supreme Court justice must immediately be established to examine Operation Cast Lead. And although the [Goldstone] report is very much not fair and borders on incitement, it also raises questions regarding our actions in Gaza,” said Prof. Uriel Reichman, president of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
The Palestinian Authority is urging the council to adopt the Goldstone Commission report in full and pass it on to the General Assembly for action.
Top officials in Jerusalem have stated that the report is full of lies and distortions, which demand an examination of how Goldstone arrived at his conclusions.
Sources in Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s bureau denied Wednesday reports that Barak had called for the establishment of an investigative committee into the Goldstone report, but confirmed that Barak asked former Israel Chief Justice Aharon Barak to support efforts to challenge the UN report’s findings.
In an op-ed piece which appeared Friday in the Wall Street Journal, Barak slammed criticism of the Israel Defense Forces during the offensive as “a theater of the absurd.”
On Tuesday, a British court deferred until further notice an appeal by local pro-Palestinian groups to issue an arrest warrant against Barak for his conduct as defense minister during Operation Cast Lead. Israel launched the three-week offensive in December, in an effort to halt rocket fire on its southern communities, but came under fierce criticism for the conduct of its soldiers during the operation.
The president of one of Israel’s leading academic institutions warned Tuesday that if Israel does not investigate the operation in Gaza, it will be forced to do so by the international community.
“A commission headed by a Supreme Court justice must immediately be established to examine Operation Cast Lead. And although the [Goldstone] report is very much not fair and borders on incitement, it also raises questions regarding our actions in Gaza,” said Prof. Uriel Reichman, president of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya.
29 sept 2009
Israel received an uncomfortable reminder of international anger over the Gaza war today when lawyers representing 16 Palestinians asked a London court to issue an arrest warrant for its defence minister, Ehud Barak, who is visiting Britain.
After a day of delays and legal wrangling the bid failed on the grounds that Barak enjoyed diplomatic immunity from prosecution. But the episode triggered a brief storm that is likely to give Israeli officials second thoughts about the risk of prosecution in foreign courts.
Barak was last night addressing a fringe meeting at the Labour party conference in Brighton, and is due to meet Gordon Brown and David Miliband, the foreign secretary‑— triggering new protests.
Furious Israeli officials insisted all day that he was protected by diplomatic immunity and could not be legally detained.
The action related to alleged war crimes and breaches of the Geneva conventions during the Gaza offensive, launched by Israel last December in response to Palestinian rocket attacks and widely criticised. The death toll is disputed, but the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says 1,387 Palestinians died, including 773 people not taking part in hostilities.
Solicitors asked a district judge at the City of Westminster magistrates court to issue a warrant for the minister’s arrest under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, which gives courts in England and Wales universal jurisdiction in war crimes cases.
The hearing was postponed while the court asked the Foreign Office to clarify Barak’s status in the UK. The lawyers making the application said they believed a warrant could be issued even if he was in Britain in an official capacity.
Intensive contacts were understood to have taken place throughout the day between London and Jerusalem. Barak is also deputy prime minister of Israel and leader of the country’s Labour party.
Lawyers from Irvine Thanvi Natas and Imran Khan & Partners said they believed the warrant that the international criminal court issued in May last year for the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, offered a precedent. Bashir is accused of committing war crimes in Darfur.
The issue is politically explosive. Israel’s ambassador to Britain, Ron Prosor, lambasted the move as the “continuation of the process of demonisation and the de-legitimisation of Israel,” and called the action “spiteful”.
Deputy district judge Daphne Wickham said allegations of war crimes had been well documented, but added: “I am satisfied that under customary international law Mr Barak has immunity from prosecution as he would not be able to perform his functions efficiently if he were the subject of criminal proceedings in this jurisdiction.”
The accusations were based, in part, on a UN investigation conducted by the former South African judge Richard Goldstone. It concluded this month that Israel had committed war crimes by deliberately attacking civilians and firing white phosphorus shells. Israel rejected its findings as irredeemably biased. The 575-page report also found that Hamas, the group controlling Gaza, may be guilty of committing war crimes by firing rockets at Israeli civilian targets.
Goldstone warned that unless Israel conducted investigations conforming to international standards, its officials could face action by the international criminal court or national prosecutions of the kind attempted in London.
Michel Massih QC, for the applicants, argued that the court needed to be satisfied only that Barak faced war crimes allegations, and that the question of immunity should be considered only after his arrest. Massih added that international law “places a direct responsibility not only on those who pull the trigger, but on those higher up the chain of command”.
Israeli media reported that Barak had been warned about the impending legal action and urged to leave the UK for France. But he had decided to carry on with his schedule as there was no doubt he enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
In 2005, human rights groups criticised British authorities for failing to arrest Doron Almog, an Israeli general for whom an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes had been issued, when his aircraft landed at Heathrow. Almog stayed on the plane and was allowed to return to Israel.
In June a Spanish court shelved an investigation launched into a July 2002 air strike by Israel on a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip. The suspects named included the former Israeli defence minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and six current or former officers or security officials.
Massih said: “If the Israeli courts were themselves to investigate, there would be no need to have recourse to international tribunals.”
The Council for Arab-British Understanding condemned Brown for agreeing to meet Barak. “It is a disgrace to fete a man who is imposing one of the harshest sieges ever imposed on a civilian population, one that has deprived them even of the most basic necessities of life,” said the council’s director, Chris Doyle. “It is vital that British ministers send out a strong signal that Britain will stand up for international law and justice and refuse to meet Ehud Barak.”
After a day of delays and legal wrangling the bid failed on the grounds that Barak enjoyed diplomatic immunity from prosecution. But the episode triggered a brief storm that is likely to give Israeli officials second thoughts about the risk of prosecution in foreign courts.
Barak was last night addressing a fringe meeting at the Labour party conference in Brighton, and is due to meet Gordon Brown and David Miliband, the foreign secretary‑— triggering new protests.
Furious Israeli officials insisted all day that he was protected by diplomatic immunity and could not be legally detained.
The action related to alleged war crimes and breaches of the Geneva conventions during the Gaza offensive, launched by Israel last December in response to Palestinian rocket attacks and widely criticised. The death toll is disputed, but the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem says 1,387 Palestinians died, including 773 people not taking part in hostilities.
Solicitors asked a district judge at the City of Westminster magistrates court to issue a warrant for the minister’s arrest under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act, which gives courts in England and Wales universal jurisdiction in war crimes cases.
The hearing was postponed while the court asked the Foreign Office to clarify Barak’s status in the UK. The lawyers making the application said they believed a warrant could be issued even if he was in Britain in an official capacity.
Intensive contacts were understood to have taken place throughout the day between London and Jerusalem. Barak is also deputy prime minister of Israel and leader of the country’s Labour party.
Lawyers from Irvine Thanvi Natas and Imran Khan & Partners said they believed the warrant that the international criminal court issued in May last year for the arrest of Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, offered a precedent. Bashir is accused of committing war crimes in Darfur.
The issue is politically explosive. Israel’s ambassador to Britain, Ron Prosor, lambasted the move as the “continuation of the process of demonisation and the de-legitimisation of Israel,” and called the action “spiteful”.
Deputy district judge Daphne Wickham said allegations of war crimes had been well documented, but added: “I am satisfied that under customary international law Mr Barak has immunity from prosecution as he would not be able to perform his functions efficiently if he were the subject of criminal proceedings in this jurisdiction.”
The accusations were based, in part, on a UN investigation conducted by the former South African judge Richard Goldstone. It concluded this month that Israel had committed war crimes by deliberately attacking civilians and firing white phosphorus shells. Israel rejected its findings as irredeemably biased. The 575-page report also found that Hamas, the group controlling Gaza, may be guilty of committing war crimes by firing rockets at Israeli civilian targets.
Goldstone warned that unless Israel conducted investigations conforming to international standards, its officials could face action by the international criminal court or national prosecutions of the kind attempted in London.
Michel Massih QC, for the applicants, argued that the court needed to be satisfied only that Barak faced war crimes allegations, and that the question of immunity should be considered only after his arrest. Massih added that international law “places a direct responsibility not only on those who pull the trigger, but on those higher up the chain of command”.
Israeli media reported that Barak had been warned about the impending legal action and urged to leave the UK for France. But he had decided to carry on with his schedule as there was no doubt he enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
In 2005, human rights groups criticised British authorities for failing to arrest Doron Almog, an Israeli general for whom an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes had been issued, when his aircraft landed at Heathrow. Almog stayed on the plane and was allowed to return to Israel.
In June a Spanish court shelved an investigation launched into a July 2002 air strike by Israel on a Hamas target in the Gaza Strip. The suspects named included the former Israeli defence minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and six current or former officers or security officials.
Massih said: “If the Israeli courts were themselves to investigate, there would be no need to have recourse to international tribunals.”
The Council for Arab-British Understanding condemned Brown for agreeing to meet Barak. “It is a disgrace to fete a man who is imposing one of the harshest sieges ever imposed on a civilian population, one that has deprived them even of the most basic necessities of life,” said the council’s director, Chris Doyle. “It is vital that British ministers send out a strong signal that Britain will stand up for international law and justice and refuse to meet Ehud Barak.”
More than 1,400 Palestinians, a third of them women and children, died in the offensive
A United Nations investigator has defended a report published earlier this month that accuses Israel and Palestinian fighters of war crimes following the Israeli offensive in Gaza earlier this year.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, Richard Goldstone said a lack of accountability for war crimes committed in the Middle East had reached "crisis point", undermining any hope for peace in the region.
The former South African judge rejected criticism by Israel that the 575-page report was politically motivated.
He said his team was led by a belief in the rule of law, human rights and the need to protect civilians during war.
US pressure
Goldstone said the report had investigated 36 incidents surrounding Israel's military operation.
"A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long, the lack of accountability for war crimes and possible war crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point," he said. "The ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful peace process and reinforcing an environment that fosters violence."
Goldstone's report urged the UN Security Council to refer the allegations to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if either Israeli or Palestinian authorities failed to investigate and prosecute those suspected of such crimes within six months.
Michael Posner, the US assistant secretary of state, called on Israel on Tuesday to conduct credible investigations into the allegations, saying it would help the Middle East peace process.
Israeli rejection
Posner said that Hamas' leaders also had a responsibility to investigate crimes and to end what he called its targeting of civilians and use of Palestinian civilians as human shields in the strip.
Israel did not co-operate with the UN inquiry and has rejected the report as biased.
Hamas, which helped facilitate the work of the UN in compiling the report, has agreed that local authorities will investigate the relevant cases in the inquiry.
"We encourage Israel to utilise appropriate domestic [judicial] review and meaningful accountability mechanisms to investigate and follow-up on credible allegations," Posner said in a speech to the Geneva forum.
"If undertaken properly and fairly, these reviews can serve as important confidence-building measures that will support the larger essential objective which is a shared quest for justice and lasting peace."
The US joined the council, set up three years ago, for the first time earlier this year.
Posner reiterated Washington's view that the council paid "grossly disproportionate attention" to Israel, but said that the US delegation was ready to engage in balanced debate.
'Barrage of criticism'
A United Nations investigator has defended a report published earlier this month that accuses Israel and Palestinian fighters of war crimes following the Israeli offensive in Gaza earlier this year.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, Richard Goldstone said a lack of accountability for war crimes committed in the Middle East had reached "crisis point", undermining any hope for peace in the region.
The former South African judge rejected criticism by Israel that the 575-page report was politically motivated.
He said his team was led by a belief in the rule of law, human rights and the need to protect civilians during war.
US pressure
Goldstone said the report had investigated 36 incidents surrounding Israel's military operation.
"A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long, the lack of accountability for war crimes and possible war crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point," he said. "The ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful peace process and reinforcing an environment that fosters violence."
Goldstone's report urged the UN Security Council to refer the allegations to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if either Israeli or Palestinian authorities failed to investigate and prosecute those suspected of such crimes within six months.
Michael Posner, the US assistant secretary of state, called on Israel on Tuesday to conduct credible investigations into the allegations, saying it would help the Middle East peace process.
Israeli rejection
Posner said that Hamas' leaders also had a responsibility to investigate crimes and to end what he called its targeting of civilians and use of Palestinian civilians as human shields in the strip.
Israel did not co-operate with the UN inquiry and has rejected the report as biased.
Hamas, which helped facilitate the work of the UN in compiling the report, has agreed that local authorities will investigate the relevant cases in the inquiry.
"We encourage Israel to utilise appropriate domestic [judicial] review and meaningful accountability mechanisms to investigate and follow-up on credible allegations," Posner said in a speech to the Geneva forum.
"If undertaken properly and fairly, these reviews can serve as important confidence-building measures that will support the larger essential objective which is a shared quest for justice and lasting peace."
The US joined the council, set up three years ago, for the first time earlier this year.
Posner reiterated Washington's view that the council paid "grossly disproportionate attention" to Israel, but said that the US delegation was ready to engage in balanced debate.
'Barrage of criticism'
|
Goldstone says he found evidence that Israel targeted civilians
Goldstone said his four-member panel had been hit with a "barrage of criticism" on its findings and it was important not to ascribe collective guilt to a people. |
"People of the region should not be demonised," he said. Goldstone urged the 47-member state forum to adopt the report which would mean it is referred to the UN Security Council for further action.
An Arab-backed resolution to accept the findings is opposed by European countries and the United States because of concerns about how the report was compiled.
In his report, the judge said that he had found evidence that Israel had targeted civilians and used excessive force in the assault which took place from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009.
"The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly in some respects crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defence Force," Goldstone said.
While the report was more sharply critical of Israel, it also said that there was evidence "that Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes, as well as possibly crimes against humanity", by firing rockets into southern Israel.
'Well-documented case'
Saad Djebbar, an international lawyer and the deputy director of the Centre for North African Studies, said that the investigators must be given credit for a well-documented case.
"I think you have to start somewhere and usually we criticise the UN and such bodies, like the human rights council, for not doing enough. But to focus on one particular situation and do it well goes to the credit of the council," he told Al Jazeera.
"Before we complained that there wasn't much interest in the Palestinian issue by the international community because of the influence of Israel."
More than 1,400 Palestinians - about a third of them women and children - were killed in the offensive.
Thirteen Israelis died during the same period, mostly due to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Statement by Richard Goldstone on behalf of the Members of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict before the Human Rights Council (Human Rights Council 12th Session – 29 September 2009)
The mandate of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict is “To investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations that were conducted in Gaza during the period from 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009, whether before, during or after.” Learn more about the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
An Arab-backed resolution to accept the findings is opposed by European countries and the United States because of concerns about how the report was compiled.
In his report, the judge said that he had found evidence that Israel had targeted civilians and used excessive force in the assault which took place from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009.
"The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly in some respects crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defence Force," Goldstone said.
While the report was more sharply critical of Israel, it also said that there was evidence "that Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes, as well as possibly crimes against humanity", by firing rockets into southern Israel.
'Well-documented case'
Saad Djebbar, an international lawyer and the deputy director of the Centre for North African Studies, said that the investigators must be given credit for a well-documented case.
"I think you have to start somewhere and usually we criticise the UN and such bodies, like the human rights council, for not doing enough. But to focus on one particular situation and do it well goes to the credit of the council," he told Al Jazeera.
"Before we complained that there wasn't much interest in the Palestinian issue by the international community because of the influence of Israel."
More than 1,400 Palestinians - about a third of them women and children - were killed in the offensive.
Thirteen Israelis died during the same period, mostly due to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Statement by Richard Goldstone on behalf of the Members of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict before the Human Rights Council (Human Rights Council 12th Session – 29 September 2009)
The mandate of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict is “To investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations that were conducted in Gaza during the period from 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009, whether before, during or after.” Learn more about the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
Palestinians unanimously support Justice Richard Goldstone’s call for further investigations into allegations of war crimes committed during Israel’s war on Gaza last winter.
Goldstone, a Jewish South African judge, is set to present his team’s findings to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday. Ultimately, the report will need the backing of the Security Council to be referred either to the International Criminal Court or to a possible special tribunal similar to those established for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
Salah Samouni, 31, who lost 29 of his relatives to the Israeli onslaught in January, is one of the people who testified to Goldstone’s United Nations Fact Finding Mission when it visited Gaza. His family was massacred when Israeli soldiers herded nearly 100 of his relatives into a single building and then shelled it.
Samouni said he supported the investigation. “If you watch foreign or Indian films, people who are oppressed at the beginning usually get their rights at the end. If we don’t get our [financial] rights, we will be living in a jungle, survival of the fittest.” he told Ma’an.
Although he hadn’t read Goldstone’s 574-page report he said that he found Goldstone’s team to be professional and thorough.
“After everything that happened, we still want to know why. We are civilians. There was no resistance in this area. … Give us a reason,” he said, standing on the ruins of his cousin Wa’el’s house, the same house where members of his family were killed.
Sharhabeel Az-Zaeem sits on the board of the elite American International School of Gaza, whose building was leveled by Israeli warplanes on 6 January. Standing in front of the now-collapsed school, he said the report “met my expectations.”
“The team was very well composed, very professional,” he said of Goldstone’s commission.
Ahmad Yousef, an advisor to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, said that the report, by putting Israel and Palestinian groups on equal footing, was unfair.
“You shouldn’t blame Hamas or those militant groups that were defending Gaza against aggression. The Israelis started that war, and they used all the high technology in their hands to cause large-scale destruction. Militant groups are going to use whatever means is necessarily, any means at hand to defend the people.”
“The report tried to equate, in one way or another, between the aggressors and the victims. That is actually where we are not satisfied totally with the report,” Yousef said in an interview at his home in Rafah.
“But in general,” he said, “the report highlighted Israeli crimes against humanity, and they recommended that the United Nations, also, pressure the Israeli authorities to conduct more investigations to bring the criminals to justice.”
On the opposite side of the Palestinian political equation, a Fatah-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Faisal Abu Shahla, said he also met the Goldstone team and found them to be “fair,” but leveled the same critique that Hamas did.
“They were talking about Israeli crimes in Gaza. But they were not fair when they compared the Palestinians’ resistance to the people that were attacking them and occupying their land, making a balance between them,” said Abu Shahla.
He added in an interview in his Gaza home, “Of course we are not fond of killing others, but we are defending our land.”
Goldstone, a Jewish South African judge, is set to present his team’s findings to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday. Ultimately, the report will need the backing of the Security Council to be referred either to the International Criminal Court or to a possible special tribunal similar to those established for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
Salah Samouni, 31, who lost 29 of his relatives to the Israeli onslaught in January, is one of the people who testified to Goldstone’s United Nations Fact Finding Mission when it visited Gaza. His family was massacred when Israeli soldiers herded nearly 100 of his relatives into a single building and then shelled it.
Samouni said he supported the investigation. “If you watch foreign or Indian films, people who are oppressed at the beginning usually get their rights at the end. If we don’t get our [financial] rights, we will be living in a jungle, survival of the fittest.” he told Ma’an.
Although he hadn’t read Goldstone’s 574-page report he said that he found Goldstone’s team to be professional and thorough.
“After everything that happened, we still want to know why. We are civilians. There was no resistance in this area. … Give us a reason,” he said, standing on the ruins of his cousin Wa’el’s house, the same house where members of his family were killed.
Sharhabeel Az-Zaeem sits on the board of the elite American International School of Gaza, whose building was leveled by Israeli warplanes on 6 January. Standing in front of the now-collapsed school, he said the report “met my expectations.”
“The team was very well composed, very professional,” he said of Goldstone’s commission.
Ahmad Yousef, an advisor to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, said that the report, by putting Israel and Palestinian groups on equal footing, was unfair.
“You shouldn’t blame Hamas or those militant groups that were defending Gaza against aggression. The Israelis started that war, and they used all the high technology in their hands to cause large-scale destruction. Militant groups are going to use whatever means is necessarily, any means at hand to defend the people.”
“The report tried to equate, in one way or another, between the aggressors and the victims. That is actually where we are not satisfied totally with the report,” Yousef said in an interview at his home in Rafah.
“But in general,” he said, “the report highlighted Israeli crimes against humanity, and they recommended that the United Nations, also, pressure the Israeli authorities to conduct more investigations to bring the criminals to justice.”
On the opposite side of the Palestinian political equation, a Fatah-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), Faisal Abu Shahla, said he also met the Goldstone team and found them to be “fair,” but leveled the same critique that Hamas did.
“They were talking about Israeli crimes in Gaza. But they were not fair when they compared the Palestinians’ resistance to the people that were attacking them and occupying their land, making a balance between them,” said Abu Shahla.
He added in an interview in his Gaza home, “Of course we are not fond of killing others, but we are defending our land.”
28 sept 2009
A group of Palestinian families is attempting to have Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, prosecuted in Britain for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip, lawyers have told Al Jazeera.
A lawyer working for the families will present their case at a magistrates court in London on Tuesday before British officials decide if it has the jurisdiction to decide the case.
Barak is due in Britain on Tuesday to address a meeting of the Labour Friends of Israel on the sidelines of the ruling party’s annual conference. The families hope that an arrest warrant will be issued during his visit.
Michel Massih, the UK-based lawyer taking the case to court, said that he believed that the British government was obliged ”to actively pursue people who are alleged to be involved in war crimes”.
“One does not need, at this stage, to provide more than a basic prima face case and the suggestion would be that Barak certainly was in a position where he has to answer some of the allegations made about the commission of crimes by Israeli troops,” he told Al Jazeera from London.
Gaza bombardment
More than 1,400 Palestinians, at least one-third of them women and children, were killed in Israel’s December-January offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Israel said the air, naval and ground assault on the territory was aimed at halting rocket attacks by Palestinian fighters.
Massih said that the case would be based on a number of sources of evidence, including reports by Amnesty International and other human rights organisations and the UN investigation into the war.
After the UN human rights commission report, complied by Richard Goldstone, a South African prosecutor, was published, Barak condemned its findings as political and faulted its methodology.
“Although I am incensed by the Goldstone Report, I must admit that I was not surprised,” he wrote in The Wall Street Journal. “It is, more than anything else, a political statement – not a legal analysis.”
‘Punished and terrorised’
Goldstone’s report said that the Israeli offensive had ”punished and terrorised” Palestinian civilians as troops had failed to take precautions to minimise civilian casualties and in some cases had deliberately attacked them.
The report also accused Palestinian fighters of committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity as they fired rockets into southern Israel.
“If the Israeli courts were themselves to investigate, there would be no need to have recourse to international tribunals,” Massih told Al Jazeera.”There are allegations of war crimes, there are families seeking redress and because these families are seeking redress they have asked the advice of lawyers in Palestine who have asked the advice of lawyers in the United Kingdom.”
In 2005, human rights groups criticised British authorities for failing to arrest Doron Almog, an Israeli army general for whom an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes had been issued, when his aircraft landed in London.
Almog stayed on the aeroplane at Heathrow airport after apparently being informed that he could face arrest and was allowed to return to Israel.
A lawyer working for the families will present their case at a magistrates court in London on Tuesday before British officials decide if it has the jurisdiction to decide the case.
Barak is due in Britain on Tuesday to address a meeting of the Labour Friends of Israel on the sidelines of the ruling party’s annual conference. The families hope that an arrest warrant will be issued during his visit.
Michel Massih, the UK-based lawyer taking the case to court, said that he believed that the British government was obliged ”to actively pursue people who are alleged to be involved in war crimes”.
“One does not need, at this stage, to provide more than a basic prima face case and the suggestion would be that Barak certainly was in a position where he has to answer some of the allegations made about the commission of crimes by Israeli troops,” he told Al Jazeera from London.
Gaza bombardment
More than 1,400 Palestinians, at least one-third of them women and children, were killed in Israel’s December-January offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Israel said the air, naval and ground assault on the territory was aimed at halting rocket attacks by Palestinian fighters.
Massih said that the case would be based on a number of sources of evidence, including reports by Amnesty International and other human rights organisations and the UN investigation into the war.
After the UN human rights commission report, complied by Richard Goldstone, a South African prosecutor, was published, Barak condemned its findings as political and faulted its methodology.
“Although I am incensed by the Goldstone Report, I must admit that I was not surprised,” he wrote in The Wall Street Journal. “It is, more than anything else, a political statement – not a legal analysis.”
‘Punished and terrorised’
Goldstone’s report said that the Israeli offensive had ”punished and terrorised” Palestinian civilians as troops had failed to take precautions to minimise civilian casualties and in some cases had deliberately attacked them.
The report also accused Palestinian fighters of committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity as they fired rockets into southern Israel.
“If the Israeli courts were themselves to investigate, there would be no need to have recourse to international tribunals,” Massih told Al Jazeera.”There are allegations of war crimes, there are families seeking redress and because these families are seeking redress they have asked the advice of lawyers in Palestine who have asked the advice of lawyers in the United Kingdom.”
In 2005, human rights groups criticised British authorities for failing to arrest Doron Almog, an Israeli army general for whom an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes had been issued, when his aircraft landed in London.
Almog stayed on the aeroplane at Heathrow airport after apparently being informed that he could face arrest and was allowed to return to Israel.
By Louis Charbonneau
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday his country would push the Security Council to discuss a report by United Nations investigators accusing Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes in the Gaza war.
"We will definitely take the position to discuss this issue on the Security Council," Erdogan told reporters.
A United Nations fact-finding mission led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone issued a report last week that said both the Israeli army and Palestinian militants had committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, during the December-January war in the Gaza Strip.
The report urged the Security Council to refer the allegations to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if either Israel or Palestinian authorities failed to investigate and prosecute those suspected of the crimes within six months.
Erdogan, who is in New York for the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly, said through an interpreter there should be "accountability" for anyone guilty of war crimes in Gaza.
"We're in favor of opening discussions on the Goldstone report and whoever is the guilty party, they should be identified and face the necessary sanctions," he said.
Turkey joined the 15-nation Security Council as a temporary member in January and will have a seat until the end of 2010.
Both Israel and Hamas denied committing any war crimes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the report of the Goldstone commission, which Israel refused to cooperate with, as a travesty.
Ankara's insistence on raising the issue in New York might annoy Washington. The United States has said the report should be discussed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, not the Security Council.
US veto power in the Security Council makes it unlikely the body would take any action against Washington's ally Israel. But any serious discussion of the Goldstone report in New York could embarrass the Jewish state.
Israel and the United States have long criticized what they say is the anti-Israeli bias of the Human Rights Council, although the United States joined it this year after President Barack Obama's predecessor, George W Bush, boycotted it.
Erdogan said Turkey was ready to help mediate talks between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as to resume its mediation in indirect negotiations between Israel and Syria - although the Jewish state says it now wants direct talks with Damascus.
He said it would be possible to negotiate a solution between Israel and the Palestinians but in order for that to happen, the Palestinians would have to unite.
"There are results that can be achieved by sitting around the table and talking about them," he said. "Once we have unity in Palestine, only then will steps yield positive results."
The militant group Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 after routing the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which now controls only the West Bank.
The West recognizes Fatah as the legitimate rulers of the Palestinian areas and will not negotiate with Hamas, which says Israel has no right to exist.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday his country would push the Security Council to discuss a report by United Nations investigators accusing Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes in the Gaza war.
"We will definitely take the position to discuss this issue on the Security Council," Erdogan told reporters.
A United Nations fact-finding mission led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone issued a report last week that said both the Israeli army and Palestinian militants had committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, during the December-January war in the Gaza Strip.
The report urged the Security Council to refer the allegations to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if either Israel or Palestinian authorities failed to investigate and prosecute those suspected of the crimes within six months.
Erdogan, who is in New York for the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly, said through an interpreter there should be "accountability" for anyone guilty of war crimes in Gaza.
"We're in favor of opening discussions on the Goldstone report and whoever is the guilty party, they should be identified and face the necessary sanctions," he said.
Turkey joined the 15-nation Security Council as a temporary member in January and will have a seat until the end of 2010.
Both Israel and Hamas denied committing any war crimes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the report of the Goldstone commission, which Israel refused to cooperate with, as a travesty.
Ankara's insistence on raising the issue in New York might annoy Washington. The United States has said the report should be discussed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, not the Security Council.
US veto power in the Security Council makes it unlikely the body would take any action against Washington's ally Israel. But any serious discussion of the Goldstone report in New York could embarrass the Jewish state.
Israel and the United States have long criticized what they say is the anti-Israeli bias of the Human Rights Council, although the United States joined it this year after President Barack Obama's predecessor, George W Bush, boycotted it.
Erdogan said Turkey was ready to help mediate talks between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as to resume its mediation in indirect negotiations between Israel and Syria - although the Jewish state says it now wants direct talks with Damascus.
He said it would be possible to negotiate a solution between Israel and the Palestinians but in order for that to happen, the Palestinians would have to unite.
"There are results that can be achieved by sitting around the table and talking about them," he said. "Once we have unity in Palestine, only then will steps yield positive results."
The militant group Hamas seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 after routing the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which now controls only the West Bank.
The West recognizes Fatah as the legitimate rulers of the Palestinian areas and will not negotiate with Hamas, which says Israel has no right to exist.
25 sept 2009
Palestinian Authority called on International Court to examine IDF's January operation in Gaza.
Tensions are mounting between Israel and the Palestinian Authority following Ramallah's call on the International Court at The Hague to examine claims of "war crimes" that the IDF allegedly committed during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. The issue is already weighing in on the relations between the leadership of Israel's defense and security establishment with their counterparts in the West Bank, and is part of a growing list of Israeli complaints about the behavior of PA officials.
Meanwhile, Israel has warned the Palestinian Authority that it would condition permission for a second cellular telephone provider to operate in the West Bank - an economic issue of critical importance to the PA leadership - on the Palestinians withdrawing their request at the International Court.
The issue of a second cellular provider is at the center of talks between the PA, the international Quartet, and Israel, and has been ongoing for some months. Currently the sole provider is Pal-Tel, and the PA prime minister, Salam Fayyad, considers the introduction of another carrier as an important step in improving the civilian infrastructure in the West Bank. The project is central to Watanya, the company that is set to serve as the second provider, and profits are expected to be substantial
However, if the project is not approved by October 15, the PA will be forced to pay a penalty estimated at $300 million, the sum that has already been invested in licensing and infrastructure.
Western diplomats, including the Quartet's envoy to the region, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, James Cunningham, have made it clear to senior Israeli officials that time is running out, and have urged them to allow for the establishment of a second provider to go forward.
Israel's objections begin with the issue of transmission frequencies. The frequencies that the Palestinians want the new company to use are very close to ones used by the Israel Defense Forces in some of its most sensitive activities.
"Israel is making it difficult for us on many levels," complains Mohammed Mustafa, economic adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. "They now want us to pressure Pal-Tel to release some of its frequencies, so that they can be used by Watanya."
However, another, more substantive issue was recently added, when the Palestinian Authority appealed to the International Criminal Court. Security sources told Haaretz that this move, which was authorized by Fayyad and Abbas, incensed senior officials of the defense establishment, especially army Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
Ashkenazi has been kept busy by involvement in a holding action against the threat that Israeli officers would be brought before the court as a result of charges that the IDF committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Concern has intensified following the grave report that the Goldstone Commission released two weeks ago on behalf of the United Nations.
In Israel the argument is that the PA is being unfair, and that at the time of the operation in the Gaza Strip, last winter, its senior officials encouraged their Israeli counterparts to step up the pressure on Hamas, and even to attempt to bring its rule in the territory to the point of collapse. However, at a latter stage they joined those decrying Israel and its alleged actions in the Strip.
In light of this tension, the chief of staff conditioned his approval of a second cellular provider to the Palestinians' withdrawing their appeal to the court.
"The PA has reached the point where it has to decide whether it is working with us or against us," senior figures in the defense establishment have said. At the PA it is being said, in response to the Israeli demands, that Abbas and Fayyad will water down their appeal to the ICJ, though they will refuse to promise that it will rescinded entirely.
During the past year Israel defense officials have often praised the Palestinians on improving their contribution to securing the West Bank, and of the decisive character of the leadership under Fayyad. However, in recent weeks there have been increasing claims that even as the Authority is being praised by Israel and the international community, it is behaving irresponsibly by violating agreements between the two sides.
The Israeli claims focus on the growing presence of Palestinian security personnel in civilian clothing in East Jerusalem, contrary to the obligations of the PA. The security personnel participate in prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque, and at other sites in the city, and have stepped up their presence in the Jerusalem's medical and educational facilities. Moreover, they have also been involved in the abduction of Palestinians suspected of selling property to Jews.
Tensions are mounting between Israel and the Palestinian Authority following Ramallah's call on the International Court at The Hague to examine claims of "war crimes" that the IDF allegedly committed during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. The issue is already weighing in on the relations between the leadership of Israel's defense and security establishment with their counterparts in the West Bank, and is part of a growing list of Israeli complaints about the behavior of PA officials.
Meanwhile, Israel has warned the Palestinian Authority that it would condition permission for a second cellular telephone provider to operate in the West Bank - an economic issue of critical importance to the PA leadership - on the Palestinians withdrawing their request at the International Court.
The issue of a second cellular provider is at the center of talks between the PA, the international Quartet, and Israel, and has been ongoing for some months. Currently the sole provider is Pal-Tel, and the PA prime minister, Salam Fayyad, considers the introduction of another carrier as an important step in improving the civilian infrastructure in the West Bank. The project is central to Watanya, the company that is set to serve as the second provider, and profits are expected to be substantial
However, if the project is not approved by October 15, the PA will be forced to pay a penalty estimated at $300 million, the sum that has already been invested in licensing and infrastructure.
Western diplomats, including the Quartet's envoy to the region, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, James Cunningham, have made it clear to senior Israeli officials that time is running out, and have urged them to allow for the establishment of a second provider to go forward.
Israel's objections begin with the issue of transmission frequencies. The frequencies that the Palestinians want the new company to use are very close to ones used by the Israel Defense Forces in some of its most sensitive activities.
"Israel is making it difficult for us on many levels," complains Mohammed Mustafa, economic adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas. "They now want us to pressure Pal-Tel to release some of its frequencies, so that they can be used by Watanya."
However, another, more substantive issue was recently added, when the Palestinian Authority appealed to the International Criminal Court. Security sources told Haaretz that this move, which was authorized by Fayyad and Abbas, incensed senior officials of the defense establishment, especially army Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.
Ashkenazi has been kept busy by involvement in a holding action against the threat that Israeli officers would be brought before the court as a result of charges that the IDF committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Concern has intensified following the grave report that the Goldstone Commission released two weeks ago on behalf of the United Nations.
In Israel the argument is that the PA is being unfair, and that at the time of the operation in the Gaza Strip, last winter, its senior officials encouraged their Israeli counterparts to step up the pressure on Hamas, and even to attempt to bring its rule in the territory to the point of collapse. However, at a latter stage they joined those decrying Israel and its alleged actions in the Strip.
In light of this tension, the chief of staff conditioned his approval of a second cellular provider to the Palestinians' withdrawing their appeal to the court.
"The PA has reached the point where it has to decide whether it is working with us or against us," senior figures in the defense establishment have said. At the PA it is being said, in response to the Israeli demands, that Abbas and Fayyad will water down their appeal to the ICJ, though they will refuse to promise that it will rescinded entirely.
During the past year Israel defense officials have often praised the Palestinians on improving their contribution to securing the West Bank, and of the decisive character of the leadership under Fayyad. However, in recent weeks there have been increasing claims that even as the Authority is being praised by Israel and the international community, it is behaving irresponsibly by violating agreements between the two sides.
The Israeli claims focus on the growing presence of Palestinian security personnel in civilian clothing in East Jerusalem, contrary to the obligations of the PA. The security personnel participate in prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque, and at other sites in the city, and have stepped up their presence in the Jerusalem's medical and educational facilities. Moreover, they have also been involved in the abduction of Palestinians suspected of selling property to Jews.
Last Tuesday, after months of exhaustive research, including conducting 188 interviews and reviewing 300 reports, 10,000 pages of documents, 30 videos, and 1,200 photographs, the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict released the findings of its investigation in a thoroughly documented 575 page report. This independent mission was given a mandate by the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate allegations of war crimes and serious violations of international human rights law committed by both Israel and Palestinian armed groups before, during, and after the military operations in Gaza between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009 that claimed the lives of more than 700 Palestinian civilians and three Israeli civilians. The mission was led by Justice Richard Goldstone, formerly a judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the chief prosecutor of the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and a governor of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In accepting this duty, Justice Goldstone reiterated that his mission would undertake "an independent, evenhanded and unbiased investigation."
The report concluded that both Israel and Palestinian armed groups perpetrated war crimes and other serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. The report also found that some of the actions carried out by Israel and Palestinian armed group may have risen to the level of crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, the Israeli government refused to cooperate with the investigation, but members of the mission had access to Gaza and heard testimony from both Palestinians and Israelis, including the Israeli Mayor of Ashkelon.
The report's findings demand action by the international community, including the United States. The importance of U.S. action is elevated because the U.S. currently holds the Presidency of the U.N. Security Council, the U.N. body charged with enforcing the report's conclusions in the absence of credible internal investigations by both Israel and the de facto Hamas government in Gaza. This report provides the Obama administration a new opportunity to match its rhetoric with reality vis-à-vis a renewed U.S. commitment to international justice and to reforming U.S. foreign policy in a manner that respects, protects, nd enforces human rights around the world. Unfortunately, initial statements from the Obama administration signal an intention to maintain the Bush administration's efforts to obstruct justice for human rights violations committed by U.S. allies. Unable to challenge the factual findings in the report, U.S. officials have instead questioned the legitimacy of the mission's mandate and its recommendations. And the administration has added Israel to a growing list of those shielded from accountability through its "look forward, not backward" rhetoric, used thus far to successfully shield Bush administration officials from accountability for committing torture and other federal and international crimes.
Both of these approaches were apparent on Wednesday when U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice stated: "We have very serious concerns about many of the recommendations in the report. ... [O]ur view is that we need to be focused on the future. This is a time to work to cement progress towards the resumptions of negotiations and their early and successful conclusion...." Instead of working to uphold the rule of law, the administration argues that the need to revive the "peace process" trumps the need for accountability. The Obama administration must remember that its duty to uphold the rule of law is not subject to political expediency, it is an absolute obligation. The Obama administration must also remember that peace and justice are two sides of the same coin, as Desmond Tutu noted in a March 2009 New York Times op-ed in support of the Bashir indictment by the> International Criminal Court: "there can be no real peace and security until justice is enjoyed by the inhabitants of the land."
Violations of international law did not end with the cessation of Israel's military campaign last January. Israel continues to wage its crippling blockade of Gaza in violation of the laws of war. By granting Israel a perpetual exemption from upholding international human rights standards, the U.S. plays into the hands of massive human rights violators around the world, including Sudan, who argue that any attempt to hold them accountable amounts to selective enforcement of the law. If we are to have a truly universal human rights system, these double standards must stop. All must be held accountable for their actions, regardless of their status as friend or foe. Both U.S. standing in the world as well as global efforts to protect and enforce human rights will be greatly undermined if documented war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian armed groups continue to be ignored. Justice Goldstone's fact finding mission and report provide an opportunity for the U.S. to support accountability over impunity, and reassert its leadership in the global human rights movement by standing with the victims of war crimes. The report's facts are thoroughly researched and documented, its authors carry impeccable credentials, and its conclusions are impartial. The U.S. should embrace the mission and its report as a model for how to investigate and document violations of international law, not work to subvert it.
Jamil Dakwar is a human rights lawyer and former senior attorney for the Israeli human rights group Adalah. The writer is submitting this piece in his personal capacity and not as an ACLU staff member.
The report concluded that both Israel and Palestinian armed groups perpetrated war crimes and other serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. The report also found that some of the actions carried out by Israel and Palestinian armed group may have risen to the level of crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, the Israeli government refused to cooperate with the investigation, but members of the mission had access to Gaza and heard testimony from both Palestinians and Israelis, including the Israeli Mayor of Ashkelon.
The report's findings demand action by the international community, including the United States. The importance of U.S. action is elevated because the U.S. currently holds the Presidency of the U.N. Security Council, the U.N. body charged with enforcing the report's conclusions in the absence of credible internal investigations by both Israel and the de facto Hamas government in Gaza. This report provides the Obama administration a new opportunity to match its rhetoric with reality vis-à-vis a renewed U.S. commitment to international justice and to reforming U.S. foreign policy in a manner that respects, protects, nd enforces human rights around the world. Unfortunately, initial statements from the Obama administration signal an intention to maintain the Bush administration's efforts to obstruct justice for human rights violations committed by U.S. allies. Unable to challenge the factual findings in the report, U.S. officials have instead questioned the legitimacy of the mission's mandate and its recommendations. And the administration has added Israel to a growing list of those shielded from accountability through its "look forward, not backward" rhetoric, used thus far to successfully shield Bush administration officials from accountability for committing torture and other federal and international crimes.
Both of these approaches were apparent on Wednesday when U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice stated: "We have very serious concerns about many of the recommendations in the report. ... [O]ur view is that we need to be focused on the future. This is a time to work to cement progress towards the resumptions of negotiations and their early and successful conclusion...." Instead of working to uphold the rule of law, the administration argues that the need to revive the "peace process" trumps the need for accountability. The Obama administration must remember that its duty to uphold the rule of law is not subject to political expediency, it is an absolute obligation. The Obama administration must also remember that peace and justice are two sides of the same coin, as Desmond Tutu noted in a March 2009 New York Times op-ed in support of the Bashir indictment by the> International Criminal Court: "there can be no real peace and security until justice is enjoyed by the inhabitants of the land."
Violations of international law did not end with the cessation of Israel's military campaign last January. Israel continues to wage its crippling blockade of Gaza in violation of the laws of war. By granting Israel a perpetual exemption from upholding international human rights standards, the U.S. plays into the hands of massive human rights violators around the world, including Sudan, who argue that any attempt to hold them accountable amounts to selective enforcement of the law. If we are to have a truly universal human rights system, these double standards must stop. All must be held accountable for their actions, regardless of their status as friend or foe. Both U.S. standing in the world as well as global efforts to protect and enforce human rights will be greatly undermined if documented war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian armed groups continue to be ignored. Justice Goldstone's fact finding mission and report provide an opportunity for the U.S. to support accountability over impunity, and reassert its leadership in the global human rights movement by standing with the victims of war crimes. The report's facts are thoroughly researched and documented, its authors carry impeccable credentials, and its conclusions are impartial. The U.S. should embrace the mission and its report as a model for how to investigate and document violations of international law, not work to subvert it.
Jamil Dakwar is a human rights lawyer and former senior attorney for the Israeli human rights group Adalah. The writer is submitting this piece in his personal capacity and not as an ACLU staff member.
23 sept 2009
Tommy Vietor
The White House says an official "misspoke" when he said the Obama administration would not allow the Goldstone report recommendations on Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war to reach the International Criminal Court. A top White House official told Jewish organizational leaders in an off-the-record phone call Wednesday that the U.S. strategy was to "quickly" bring the report — commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council and carried out by former South African Judge Richard Goldstone — to its "natural conclusion" within the Human Rights Council and not to allow it to go further, Jewish participants in the call told JTA.
Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman, called JTA later to say the official "misspoke" and that administration policy on the Goldstone report remains as articulated last week by Susan Rice, the U.N. ambassador.
Rice described the UNHRC mandate as "unbalanced, one sided and basically unacceptable. We have very serious concerns about many of the recommendations in the report. We will expect and believe that the appropriate venue for this report to be considered is the Human Rights Council and that is our strong view."
She did not mention what the United States would do were the report to be referred to the U.N. Security Council — a necessary step were the matter to be referred to the International Criminal Court.
The report said the U.N. fact-finding mission investigating Israel’s conduct during the January 2009 war found evidence of Israeli war crimes. Israel has denied the allegations and said the report’s mandate was biased — an opinion echoed by U.S. officials.
The Obama administration is ready to use the U.S. veto at the U.N. Security Council to deal with any other "difficulties" arising out of the report, the White House official said Wednesday. The administration also has made clear to the Palestinian Authority that Washington is not pleased with a P.A. petition to bring the report’s allegations against Israel to the International Criminal Court.
The official said the Obama administration’s view was that the report was flawed from its conception because the mandate presumed a priori that Israel had violated war crimes and that the mandate ignored Hamas’ role in prompting the war through its rocket fire into Israel.
The White House says an official "misspoke" when he said the Obama administration would not allow the Goldstone report recommendations on Israel’s conduct in the Gaza war to reach the International Criminal Court. A top White House official told Jewish organizational leaders in an off-the-record phone call Wednesday that the U.S. strategy was to "quickly" bring the report — commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council and carried out by former South African Judge Richard Goldstone — to its "natural conclusion" within the Human Rights Council and not to allow it to go further, Jewish participants in the call told JTA.
Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman, called JTA later to say the official "misspoke" and that administration policy on the Goldstone report remains as articulated last week by Susan Rice, the U.N. ambassador.
Rice described the UNHRC mandate as "unbalanced, one sided and basically unacceptable. We have very serious concerns about many of the recommendations in the report. We will expect and believe that the appropriate venue for this report to be considered is the Human Rights Council and that is our strong view."
She did not mention what the United States would do were the report to be referred to the U.N. Security Council — a necessary step were the matter to be referred to the International Criminal Court.
The report said the U.N. fact-finding mission investigating Israel’s conduct during the January 2009 war found evidence of Israeli war crimes. Israel has denied the allegations and said the report’s mandate was biased — an opinion echoed by U.S. officials.
The Obama administration is ready to use the U.S. veto at the U.N. Security Council to deal with any other "difficulties" arising out of the report, the White House official said Wednesday. The administration also has made clear to the Palestinian Authority that Washington is not pleased with a P.A. petition to bring the report’s allegations against Israel to the International Criminal Court.
The official said the Obama administration’s view was that the report was flawed from its conception because the mandate presumed a priori that Israel had violated war crimes and that the mandate ignored Hamas’ role in prompting the war through its rocket fire into Israel.
22 sept 2009
by Richard Goldstone - The Jerusalem Post - 22 September 2009
The responses from the government of Israel to the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza have been deeply disappointing. The mission’s mandate enabled Israel to bring its concerns and facts relating to Operation Cast Lead publicly before a UN inquiry. It could have been used by Israel to encourage the UN and especially the Human Rights Council to move in a new direction beneficial to the interests of Israel. I repeatedly requested the government of Israel to do that, and to meet with me in Jerusalem to discuss how the Fact-Finding Mission should approach its mandate.
Even after that approach was rejected, the mission sent a substantial list of questions to the government requesting information on issues in respect of which we proposed to report. We did not wish to make findings adverse to Israel public without having the benefit of the facts and its views on them. That request for information also fell on deaf ears.
So it is hardly fair for Israel to accuse the mission of “getting its facts wrong.” In short, the benefits of an even-handed mandate from the Human Rights Council were squandered by Israel.
I am also surprised and disappointed that some critics of the Report have dismissed its criticisms of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, who have committed serious war crimes against the civilian population of southern Israel. These have been fully documented and the terror they have caused to so many has been comprehensively described and condemned. There has been criticism of the Report on the basis that it devotes disproportionate attention to the conduct of Israel. That was unavoidable considering the many incidents the mission was obliged to investigate in Gaza. The factual inquiries we were called upon to make relating to a severe three-week military operation from the air, sea and land were far more complex than the comparatively unsophisticated launch of thousands of rockets into Israel as acts of terror.
IN ITS report on Operation Cast Lead, the government of Israel acknowledges in unequivocal terms that it considers itself bound by the norms of international humanitarian law. In particular, it recognizes the crucial principle of distinction – the legal requirement to protect civilians consistent with military necessity.
It cannot, I suggest, interpret that requirement of proportionality to mean that all members of Hamas are combatants. In that context, the government of Israel has not provided any explanation for the bombing of food factories, egg-producing chicken farms and what was the sole flour factory in Gaza. It has not explained why it destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes. And it has not explained why the bombing on the first day of the military operations of densely populated civilian areas was timed for the busiest time on a weekday when the streets were full of people going about their business.
These and the other serious issues raised in the report call for responses and evaluation. I would add that there appears to be no issue as to the intention of the Israel Defense Forces. They bombed targets that were carefully and deliberately chosen. The sophistication of their weaponry and their careful planning admits of no other conclusion.
I still nurture the hope that in the coming days, people of goodwill in Israel and the occupied territories do some soul-searching and come to realize that unaccountability for serious violations of international law creates a barrier to peace.
The recognition of the humanity of all people – the recognition of Israel by Hamas and the recognition of the Palestinian right to self-determination – are both pre-requisites for peace. And I still nurture the hope that the facts contained in the Report of the Fact-Finding Mission will assist, even in a small way, to finding a peaceful way forward in the Middle East.
The people of the region have waited all too long for that.
The writer leads the UN-mandated Gaza Fact-Finding Mission established to investigate alleged crimes committed during Operation Cast lead earlier this year. The Mission released its 575-page report last week.
The responses from the government of Israel to the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza have been deeply disappointing. The mission’s mandate enabled Israel to bring its concerns and facts relating to Operation Cast Lead publicly before a UN inquiry. It could have been used by Israel to encourage the UN and especially the Human Rights Council to move in a new direction beneficial to the interests of Israel. I repeatedly requested the government of Israel to do that, and to meet with me in Jerusalem to discuss how the Fact-Finding Mission should approach its mandate.
Even after that approach was rejected, the mission sent a substantial list of questions to the government requesting information on issues in respect of which we proposed to report. We did not wish to make findings adverse to Israel public without having the benefit of the facts and its views on them. That request for information also fell on deaf ears.
So it is hardly fair for Israel to accuse the mission of “getting its facts wrong.” In short, the benefits of an even-handed mandate from the Human Rights Council were squandered by Israel.
I am also surprised and disappointed that some critics of the Report have dismissed its criticisms of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, who have committed serious war crimes against the civilian population of southern Israel. These have been fully documented and the terror they have caused to so many has been comprehensively described and condemned. There has been criticism of the Report on the basis that it devotes disproportionate attention to the conduct of Israel. That was unavoidable considering the many incidents the mission was obliged to investigate in Gaza. The factual inquiries we were called upon to make relating to a severe three-week military operation from the air, sea and land were far more complex than the comparatively unsophisticated launch of thousands of rockets into Israel as acts of terror.
IN ITS report on Operation Cast Lead, the government of Israel acknowledges in unequivocal terms that it considers itself bound by the norms of international humanitarian law. In particular, it recognizes the crucial principle of distinction – the legal requirement to protect civilians consistent with military necessity.
It cannot, I suggest, interpret that requirement of proportionality to mean that all members of Hamas are combatants. In that context, the government of Israel has not provided any explanation for the bombing of food factories, egg-producing chicken farms and what was the sole flour factory in Gaza. It has not explained why it destroyed or severely damaged thousands of homes. And it has not explained why the bombing on the first day of the military operations of densely populated civilian areas was timed for the busiest time on a weekday when the streets were full of people going about their business.
These and the other serious issues raised in the report call for responses and evaluation. I would add that there appears to be no issue as to the intention of the Israel Defense Forces. They bombed targets that were carefully and deliberately chosen. The sophistication of their weaponry and their careful planning admits of no other conclusion.
I still nurture the hope that in the coming days, people of goodwill in Israel and the occupied territories do some soul-searching and come to realize that unaccountability for serious violations of international law creates a barrier to peace.
The recognition of the humanity of all people – the recognition of Israel by Hamas and the recognition of the Palestinian right to self-determination – are both pre-requisites for peace. And I still nurture the hope that the facts contained in the Report of the Fact-Finding Mission will assist, even in a small way, to finding a peaceful way forward in the Middle East.
The people of the region have waited all too long for that.
The writer leads the UN-mandated Gaza Fact-Finding Mission established to investigate alleged crimes committed during Operation Cast lead earlier this year. The Mission released its 575-page report last week.
