15/08/2010 Sixteen members of a committee created by the UN Human Rights Council to report on Palestinian and Israeli follow-up after the Goldstone report arrived in Gaza late Saturday, AFP reported.
The members are expected to spend three days in Gaza to evaluate judicial actions undertaken by Hamas and Israeli occupation authorities after the conclusion of “Operation Cast Lead” (2008 Israeli aggression against Gaza) and the subsequent Goldstone report.
The Goldstone report accused Israel of committing war crimes during the 22-day war and the report panel recommended that the cases documented be transferred to the International Criminal Court in the Hague if Israel investigation of war conduct was deemed insufficient. The report also accused Hamas of “war crimes”.
Hamas welcomes further UN investigation into the Goldstone report
[ 15/08/2010 - 10:01 AM ]
GAZA, (PIC)-- A judicial delegation from the UN arrived in the Gaza Strip Saturday evening to complete investigations into the Goldstone report on the 2008-2009 Israeli war against the Gaza Strip.
The 16-member delegation, headed by Judge Kadstan Tomacht, reached the Strip through the Rafah crossing, local sources said.
During its scheduled three-day visit, the group will meet with victims’ families, eyewitnesses who were exposed to Israeli assaults, and officials in human rights organizations.
Hamas gave its warm welcome to the UN committee to continue investigating the deadly war on Gaza, which resulted in the death and injury of more than seven thousand, most of whom were women and children.
Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum told media on Saturday that Hamas will cooperate responsibly and actively with the committee, pledging that the panel’s task of interviewing victims, witnesses, officials, and civil society organizations will be facilitated to ensure all possible evidence leading to an Israeli conviction is collected.
“The Goldstone report clearly censures the [Israeli] occupation,” Barhoum commented, adding that according to the report, Israel “committed war crimes against humanity in Gaza.”
The enemy’s leaders should be swiftly taken to trial as war criminals in international criminal courts, Barhoum said, especially after the evidence has become clear.
The UN World Council for Human Rights, chaired by Justice Richard Goldstone, had issued a report accusing Israel of committing war crimes during its war against the Gaza Strip early last year.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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