Video: Goldstone Latest Comments on Israel & Hamas

Palestine: Goldstone Report Goes Back to UN General Assembly

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In his latest interview with CNN, Richard Goldstone rejected criticisms that he was "a traitor to Israel" and "anti-Semitic". When asked about his thoughts whether there has been any movement from Israeli and/or Hamas following the release of his report, he stated that there is a clearer movement on the Hamas side whereas there is a split in the Israeli Government.

Israel-Palestine: UN Council Endorses Goldstone Report --- What Now?

Israel-Palestine: No UN Progress on Goldstone Report on Gaza
Transcript: The Palestinian Authority Draft to UN Human Rights Council (15 October)

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On Friday the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed the Goldstone Report, which found evidence of war crimes by both Hamas and Israel in the Gaza War. The vote was 25-6 with 16 abstentions. The US opposed the resolution while Britain and France did not vote. (The full list is at the bottom of the entry.)

The five-page resolution was remarkable for two reasons. First, it not only condemned Israeli crimes during Operation Cast Lead but also, beyond the war, denounced Israeli human rights violations in east Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. Second, although Goldstone Report cites both Hamas and Israel, the resolution explicitly names only Israel as a violator of international law. Goldstone criticized the UN decision to condemn only Israel, saying that the wording of the resolution was unfortunate.

Israel's Foreign Ministry rejected the resolution and called the decision "unjust":

Israel will continue to exercise its right to self-defense and to preserve the security of its citizens.

Israel believes that the decision harms efforts to protect human rights in accordance with international law and hinders efforts to promote the peace process as well as encouraging terror organizations around the world.

Israel thanks the countries that supported our position, and those who, with their vote, voiced their opposition to the unjust decision which ignores the murderous Hamas attacks against Israeli citizens... The decision ignores the fact that the Israel Defense Forces took unprecedented measures to avoid harming innocent civilians, and the fact that terror organizations used civilians as human shields in Gaza.

In contrast, Hamas welcomed the decision and said that they hoped that it would lead to "the beginning of the prosecution of the leaders of the occupation". The Palestinian Authority said that a follow-up on implementation of the recommandations in the report, "to protect the Palestinian people from Israeli aggression", was needed.

This may be the end of the line, however, for the report. The resolution asks that the Security Council forward the findings to the International Criminal Court, but the US, France, and Britain are unlikely to support the move. Indeed, with substantive action unlikely, the resolution may be an unexpected victory for Israel, with the United Nations proving its "one-sided position".

FOR the resolution: Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, Djbouti, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia

AGAINST the resolution: United States, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia and Ukraine

ABSTAINING: Belgium, Bosnia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Korea, Slovenia, Uruguay, Britain, France, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan and Angola

Palestinian Leaders Support Israel to Defer Vote on Goldstone Report

Israel-Palestine: Gazans in Poverty Triple

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On Thursday, Palestinian Authority agreed to delay until March a vote set for today at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. If the report had been endorsed by the Council, the UN Security Council would have been able to bring Israelis before the International Criminal Court at The Hague for prosecution of war crimes or crimes against humanity. Although support for the report was strong enough to get a general endorsement, six nations (US, Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, and Britain) could not find common ground on the text with the other 41 members.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN , Ibrahim Khraishi, told The Jerusalem Post that the Palestinian side was interested in a compromise rather than a quickly-passed resolution from the Council: "It will help us to explain to the Israelis that the international community is with the Palestinians to achieve their hopes and their dreams." There are reports President Obama personally told the Palestinians that the peace process would be affected adversely by a vote for the Goldstone Report.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:

I remind you that this very council has adopted more resolutions targeting Israel than resolutions targeting all other 180 countries in the world put together. If the council decides to endorse the Goldstone report it will deal a fatal blow to three major issues: Firstly, it will harm the war on terror, because it will legitimize terrorists who hide behind civilians and fire from their midst.

The second devastating blow will be to the UN's status and its prestige. It will take it back to its darkest days when absurd decisions were passed within its assembly and empty it of all meaning.

Thirdly, Israel will not be willing to take risks for peace if stripped of its right to self-defense.

Israel-Palestine: Gazans in Poverty Triple

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On Thursday, John Ging, the UN Relief and Works Agency's top official in Gaza, said that "the number of Gazans living in abject poverty has tripled this year to 300,000 - one in five residents". He called the rise in poverty a "predictable consequence" of the border blockade and added, "The suffering, the impoverishment, the misery of the people here in Gaza continues to rise because of a man-made crisis, a political failure."
Ging's statement casts light on "the West Bank success story" being trumpeted by Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren:

Imagine an annual economic growth rate of 7%, declining unemployment, a thriving tourism industry, and a 24% hike in the average daily wage. Where in today’s gloomy global market could one find such gleaming forecasts? Singapore? Brazil? Guess again. The West Bank.

In contrast Gaza faced, as Richard Goldstone told CNN on Wednesday, and "the delibarete address of Israeli bombs on factories", "Some of the killing…was certainly intentional. There was no mistake in bombing factories. The Israeli intelligence has very precise information."

With the economic situation in Gaza worsening day by day, what kind of settlement can rest on an "economic breakthrough" within the boundaries of the West Bank?

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Fatah Holds Line on Israel's Settlements: On Tuesday, Fatah's Central Committee, the movement's key decision-making body, met with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Last week's tripartite meeting was discussed during the meeting. The faction declared that Abbas must not resume peace talks unless Israel freezes its settlement construction.

Mohammed Dahlan, a committee member, said the panel told Abbas he must not budge, as "settlements and negotiations are two parallel lines that will never meet". According to Dahlan, Fatah's reservation on the peace process is also an advantage that can be used as leverage against President Barack Obama's insistance on peace talks "without preconditions".

Netanyahu Blasts Goldstone Report on Gaza: Richard Goldstone told CNN on Wednesday that Israel had targeted civilian sites during the Gaza War, though he stressed that he did not believe it was an Israeli policy: "Some of the killing...was certainly intentional. There was no mistake in bombing factories. The Israeli intelligence has very precise information."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NCcexzbAkw[/youtube]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting that any trial by the International Criminal Court of the war crimes alleged in the report would deal a death blow to peace:

[The UN] could revert back to the days when it compared Zionism to racism. It's starting in Israel, but it will reach other nations and it will hurt the UN. Anyone who supports the Goldstone report and its conclusions is in effect against peace.

If the report reaches the international court in Hague, it will bring the peace process to a halt because Israel won't take the risks necessary to achieve peace if it is not assured the right to defend itself. Anyone who desires peace must stop this report right now.