Contributed by Fatima

UN Gaza probe may not lead to prosecutions

Mr Goldstone (R), has been hearing from victims of the offensive in Gaza

A UN investigation into war crimes by Israel and Hamas is unlikely to lead to prosecutions, the head of the inquiry, Richard Goldstone, has said.

A 15-member team has been in Gaza interviewing witnesses to the three-week Israeli offensive.

Israel did not co-operate with the team, while Hamas security often accompanied it.

A barrier to prosecution is the lack of a court in Gaza to hear cases, Mr Goldstone said.

Mr Goldstone, a South African judge who has prosecuted war crimes cases from Yugoslavia and Rwanda, said he hoped that the ensuing report from the investigation, that will be published in September, will spur other UN bodies into action.

In Gaza, Mr Goldstone's team met with Hamas and UN officials, collected reports from Palestinian human rights groups and interviewed dozens of survivors.

But the presence of Hamas security has thrown doubt on the ability of witnesses to describe in detail the militant group's actions.

DIFFERENT DEATH TOLLS Palestinians killed during Israeli military offensive in Gaza, 27 Dec to 18 Jan Total dead: 1,166 (1,434) Fighters: 710-870 (235) Non-combatants: 295-460 (960) Women: 49 (121) Children under 16: 89 (288) Sources: Israeli Defence Intelligence Research Dept (and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights) Who is a civilian? Counting war casualties Who can probe war crimes claims?

The UN team also visited a mosque where an Israeli missile strike killed 16 people, witnesses said. During the offensive, Israel accused Hamas of using mosques to hide weapons.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said investigators could not reach an "unbiased conclusion" since they couldn't question those who fired rockets at Israel.

Israel has accused the UN Human Rights Council, which has organised the investigation, of being anti-Israeli in the past.

Previous inquiries

Several investigations into alleged violations of international law during Israel's 22-day operation in Gaza, which ended on 18 January, have reported back.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon requested more than $11m (£7m) compensation from Israel for damage to UN property in Gaza, after a limited UN inquiry accused Israel of targeting known civilian shelters and providing untrue statements to justify actions in which civilians were killed.

The report found Israel to blame in six out of nine incidents when death or injury were caused to people sheltering at UN property and UN buildings were damaged.

The Israeli military has concluded in an internal investigation that its troops fought lawfully, although errors did take place, such as the deaths of 21 people in a wrongly targeted house.

A fact-finding team commissioned by the Arab League said there was sufficient evidence for the Israeli military to be prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that "the Israeli political leadership was also responsible for such crimes".

It also said Palestinian militants were guilty of war crimes in their use of indiscriminate attacks on civilians.

Palestinian rights groups say more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the January conflict. Israel puts the figure at 1,166.

Israeli and Palestinian estimates also differ on the numbers of civilian casualties.

Ten Israeli soldiers were killed, including four by friendly fire, and three Israel civilians died in rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.