Israel fails to garner support for Goldstone quash

Published today (updated) 16/10/2009 12:41

Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies -

 The Israel occupation government prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, failed to convince Europe to quash the resolution on the UN-mandated Goldstone report, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Friday.

The vote on the resolution at the UN Human Rights Council is expected to go ahead Friday afternoon in Geneva, with Palestinian Human Rights organizations and diplomats working around the clock to garner support in order to adopt South African Justice Richard Goldstone’s report on war crimes charges against Israeli government leaders.

The report, which examined the events leading up to and during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, found evidence of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity, and suggested either independent or International Criminal Court investigations take place.

According to the Haaretz report, Netanyahu held meetings and telephone conversations with British, French, Dutch and Spanish officials, including a 15-minute one with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, where he reportedly attempted to talk the senior diplomat of that the report was “ridiculous” and caused Palestinians to “refuse negotiations.” According to the report he even asked Ban to declare publically Israel’s right to defend itself.

"I have recorded your position, but I cannot intervene," Ban told the Israeli leader.

The response was similar from other leaders; Britain’s Gordon Brown allegedly refused to change his expected abstention to an opposition vote. Netanyahu then asked US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to talk to the Prime Minister, who also had little success.

According to reports British Foreign Minister David Miliband explained to Clinton that President Mahmoud Abbas would pay the price for a failed motion.

Draft UN resolution inserts text on Jerusalem

Published Wednesday 14/10/2009 (updated) 16/10/2009 09:16

Bethlehem – Ma’an –

A draft resolution submitted by Palestinian diplomats to the United Nations Human Rights Council calls for a full endorsement of the Goldstone report on Israeli war crimes in Gaza and also condemns Israel for its policies in Jerusalem.

The draft was made public on Wednesday on the website of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. President Mahmoud Abbas’ government reportedly submitted the draft after it demanded a new debate on the Goldstone war crimes report.

The draft resolution “Strongly condemns all policies and measures taken by Israel, the occupying power, to limit access of Palestinians to their properties and holy sites, particularly in Occupied East Jerusalem.”

The request for a new debate on war crimes committed during the Israeli war on Gaza, in January 2009, was in itself an about-face for Abbas, who initially buckled to US pressure and called for debate on the report to be postponed. Palestinian public outrage, and sharp criticism from Hamas apparently resulted in this the reversal.

Debate in the Human Rights Council begins on Thursday, and a vote is expected on Friday.

The report was compiled by an international, independent fact-finding mission led by former UN war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone.

The new resolution, however, adds additional language about Jerusalem which, observers say, could hurt its chances of gaining the support of European countries.

“Abbas also understands that the upgraded report he served to Geneva will not go far. He doesn't really believe that Netanyahu will have to rescue Ehud Barak, Ehud Olmert, and Tzipi Livni from the claws of the International Court of Justice in The Hague,” wrote diplomatic correspondent Akiva Eldar in analysis for Haaretz.

“That was his only way to free his hands from his critics from Hamas and from his own party. Not only did he return the Goldstone report to the council in Geneva, but added more and more topics to it,” Eldar also wrote.

Goldstone report revisited

- Curtis Doebbler

Published yesterday (updatedby Ma'an) 16/10/2009 09:16

Speaking to a fully packed Chamber of the Human Rights Council, diplomats at the United Nations in Geneva began discussing the Goldstone report for the second time in three weeks on Thursday.

The formal reason for the Special Session is a resolution submitted by the Palestinian delegation supported by the 54 countries of the African Group, the 57 countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and the 22 Arab countries.

The resolution calls for condemnation of the recent Israeli action in East Jerusalem and in and around Al-Asqa Mosque. It also calls for adoption of the Goldstone report, implementation of its recommendations, and the referring of the report to the General Assembly.

What wasn’t on the table or up for discussion was the domestic dynamic that caused the Palestinian diplomats in Geneva and their government in Ramallah to reverse their effort to delay consideration of the Goldstone report.

After an avalanche of criticism from politicians and civil society inside Palestine, the Palestinian authorities decided to push for urgent consideration of the report. To do so they had to cite current events, but Israel obliged with its ongoing violence in the West Bank as well as Gaza. The fear that the somewhat embarrassing about-face by Palestine might create an even more dire situation if the council were to vote down the proposed resolution seemed not to materialize.

With almost every state in the Council seeking the floor, the majority spoke unequivocally in support of the proposed resolution. Unless there are significant changes in the political dynamics overnight, it would appear that the draft resolution will pass, undoubtedly to the great relief of the Palestinian diplomats in Geneva.

But the adoption of the report might just raise even greater questions. For example, will the Palestinian authorities take action to ensure that such diplomatic blunders do not take place in the future? To date, the investigation that President Mahmoud Abbas promised has not named a single person who was responsible for this blunder.

More importantly, it is uncertain whether the same blunder will not be made in New York when this matter is raised at the level of the UN General Assembly. To date, the New York Permanent Mission has not expressed what action or how it will support any action on the Goldstone report.

As the fiasco in Geneva could have been avoided with better consultations with Palestine’s friends both in governments and in civil society, there is still very little evidence that the government is seriously consulting its allies. Even as the Palestinian Ambassador in Geneva arrived at the UN for today’s debate, he walked past civil society representatives and the representatives of an Arab state to speak first with a European Union ambassador, who smiled broadly as he greeted him.

The author is an international human rights lawyer and professor of law at An-Najah National University in Nablus. He has represented both the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas government in Gaza.