UN General Assembly set for Gaza debate

Published today (updated) 03/11/2009 12:22

Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies –

The UN General Assembly is scheduled to vote on Wednesday on a resolution that would send a UN report charging Israeli leaders with war crimes in Gaza to the more powerful Security Council.

A draft resolution circulated by the Arab Group, published by Reuters, says the assembly "requests the Secretary-General to transmit the report ... to the Security Council." It also urges Israel and the Palestinians to comply with the report's recommendations for investigations into war crimes charges.

The UN Human Rights Council voted in October to refer the report to the UN bodies in New York. The draft resolution for the General Assembly does not explicitly endorse the language of that prior resolution.

The report, which accuses Israel and Palestinian fighters of committing war crimes during Israel’s war on Gaza last winter, is the result of an independent international fact-finding mission led by South African judge Richard Goldstone. The 22-day war left more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

The draft resolution would require UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to bring the 575-page document to the Security Council.

Most of the General Assembly’s 192 members are expected to support the resolution, while Western states will likely join Israel and the US in opposing it. The five permanent members of the Security Council -- the US, Britain, France, Russia and China – are also reported to oppose bringing the report to the higher body.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that Britain and France are supporting an alternative initiative that would keep the Goldstone report out of the Security Council and send it back to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

UN General Assembly To Discuss Goldstone Report

Tuesday November 03, 2009 11:12 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The United Nations General Assembly is set to discuss on Wednesday the report of Judge Richard Goldstone on Gaza war. The report slams Israel’s disproportional use of force against the Palestinians, and also accuses both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes.

A vote would be held on the report during the session amidst US opposition and ‘anticipated’ Veto to make sure sanctions are not imposed on Israel.

Several Arab states urged Israel and the Palestinians to be fully committed to the recommendations of the report and to investigation war crimes allegations.

Arab states represented at the General Assembly pushed a draft demanding UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to hold a discussion on the report at the Security Council.

Meanwhile, Israeli sources said that Israel received American assurances that the United States would vote against the report should it be presented without any modifications.

The sources added that most European countries would adopt the American stance in opposing the report.

EU: Israel and PA must probe Goldstone claims

Published today (updated) 03/11/2009 10:43

Bethlehem – Ma’an –

A French-British initiative is to call on Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to undertake independent investigations into allegations of war crimes in Gaza, an effort to relegate the Goldstone report to Geneva, out of the reach of the Security Council or the International Criminal Court.

According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, the new initiative is a list of “red lines” backed by 27 members of the EU and includes the assurance that the Goldstone report will not reach the Security Council or the International Criminal Court.

The initiative also calls for an independent investigation into Operation Cast Led to be undertaken by Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), and setting a deadline for the new independent investigations. The initiative also included referring the Goldstone Report back to the Human Rights Council.

The newspaper noted that the proposal was discussed during a phone conversation between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The new EU-French initiative comes as the UN General Assembly prepares to discuss the Goldstone report on Wednesday.