GENEVA – The U.N. Human Rights Council will reopen the debate about alleged war crimes in Gaza later this week after Palestinians succeeded in
gathering enough support to call a special meeting, officials said Tuesday.
The debate will start Thursday, a day after the U.N. Security Council in New York discusses the Goldstone report, which accuses Israeli forces and
Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during their Dec. 27-Jan. 18 war.
Israel has rejected the report, claiming the investigators led by former South African judge Richard Goldstone were biased against the Jewish state
and misled by Palestinian propaganda.
U.N. officials say 18 of the council's 47 members signed a motion calling for the debate. The backers are: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Cuba,
Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Senegal.
I'm certainly no expert, but with the exception of the Saudis, who must have a hard time sitting down with US heads so far up their butts, this list
reads like a short list of countries the US needs to invade anyway.
Ibrahim Khraishi, the Palestinian Authority's U.N. ambassador in Geneva, said the two-day debate would examine the report as well as recent incidents
of violence in Jerusalem.
It will be the sixth time that Israel has been the subject of a special session by the Geneva-based council. Each previous session has resulted in a
resolution critical of Israel.
SIX TIMES a special session, SIX TIMES Israel getting 'criticized' by the international community. Six times Israel told to 'play nice?'
"We'll wait to take a stance on the debate itself once it begins," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said. "We still think that this
report is very dangerous and is disconnected from reality. This report was based almost exclusively on Hamas propaganda."
The 575-page report concluded that Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians during its incursion into Gaza to root out
Palestinian rocket squads.
The report also accused Palestinian armed groups of possible war crimes, including firing rockets into civilian areas in Israel. Hamas, the
Palestinian Authority's main rival, controls Gaza.
Thirteen Israelis and almost 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the conflict.
The decision to call for a special meeting of the council marks a turnaround for the Palestinians. Under heavy U.S. pressure, Palestinian diplomats
two weeks ago had asked for debate on the report to be delayed until March, resulting in protests at home.
Despite angry Israeli reaction and U.S. criticism, the Goldstone report has been widely praised by human rights groups such as Amnesty International
and supported by countries in Europe and elsewhere.
So, Israel gets called on the carpet, the Palestinians too, so don't think this is one sided, but then the US and Israel are 'ANGRY' that they are
having a finger shaken at them?
I'm glad to see this. I think it's long overdue that the US and Israel should start abiding by the same rules they cram down everyone else's
throats. Not that this will happen, but I'm glad to see that the useless UN will at least debate it.
news.yahoo.com...
[edit on 13-10-2009 by KSPigpen]
