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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| UN chief unsure if Gaza war probes are credible |
| 2010-02-06 |
| [Al Arabiya Latest] U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cast doubt Friday on the credibility of Israeli and Palestinian investigations into U.N. allegations of war crimes during the 2008-2009 war in the Gaza Strip. In a cautiously worded message to the U.N. General Assembly, Ban acknowledged Israel and the Palestinian Authority were looking into the behavior of Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants as demanded by a resolution the 192-nation assembly approved in November. But Ban withheld judgment on whether the probes were "independent, credible and in conformity with international standards." "No determination can be made on the implementation of the resolution by the parties concerned," Ban said in the letter that accompanied the documents given to him by the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority about their investigations. Last Friday, the U.N. chief received a 46-page report from Israel in which the Jewish state denied violating international law, but admitted "tragic results" due to the "complexity and scale" of conducting a military operation in a heavily populated area. In his report, Ban highlighted Israel's assertion that two of its senior officers -- a brigadier general and a colonel -- were disciplined for the firing of white phosphorous shells toward a U.N. compound during the Gaza war. Also last Friday, the U.N. secretary general was handed a preliminary report from the Palestinian side in which it said a commission of five well-known judges and legal experts had been set up to look into allegations that Palestinian militants committed war crimes during the conflict. Ban on Thursday recalled that he had on several occasions urged all the parties "to carry out credible domestic investigations into the conduct of the Gaza conflict." "I hope that such steps will be taken wherever there are credible allegations of human rights abuses," he added. A U.N. spokesman said the General Assembly would meet in the near future to weigh Ban's Gaza report. A U.N. study authored by South African judge and former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone last September accused both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes in the Gaza war. It recommended that its findings be passed to the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court at The Hague if Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers fail to carry out credible independent investigations of the claims. Israel launched its 22-day onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 27, 2008 with the stated goal of halting rocket firings from the Islamist-run territory into southern Israel. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 might be the ONLY start. Other than pre-emptive Arclight. Drink up! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-02-06 15:27 |
| #2 Withholding funds might be a good start. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-02-06 15:17 |
| #1 It's long past time to bring accountability into the lives of these (NGO, UN, etc...) people. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-02-06 02:37 |