Israel slams Goldstone 'misrepresentations' of internal probes into Gaza war

[Philip Bliss]

>
>
> Haaretz -
> Last update - 10:38 30/01/2010
>
>
> Israel slams Goldstone 'misrepresentations' of internal probes into
> Gaza war By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent, DPA
>
> http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1146197.html
>
>
> In written rebuttal to Goldstone report, Israel says it is committed 'to
> investigating every allegation of violations.'
>
>
> Israel hit back Friday at claims by a UN report on its Gaza offensive
> last winter, charging in a written response submitted to UN chief Ban
> Ki-moon that the so-called Goldstone report was inaccurate, as Israel
> had abided by rules of war in investigating claims of war crimes.
>
> Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in late December 2008, following
> heavy rocket fire from Gaza on its southern communities. The UN Human
> Rights Council commission of inquiry into the three-week offensive was
> headed by retired South African justice Richard Goldstone.
>
> The Goldstone report charged both Israel and Hamas with war crimes, as
> well as acts that amounted to crimes against humanity. The UN report
> found that the conflict was dominated by Israel's military superiority,
> had killed 1,400 Palestinians and caused widespread damage to properties
> in Gaza.
>
>
> But in a 46-page document entitled "Gaza Operation Investigations:
> Update," Israel emphasized Friday its commitment to "full compliance
> with the Law of Armed Conflict, and to investigating every allegation of
> violations, irrespective of the source of the allegation." Click here to
> view the Israeli response.
>
> Israel describes its report issued Friday as a follow-on to a paper
> released in July 2009, entitled "The Operation in Gaza: Factual and
> Legal Aspects." The initial document, Israel says, "addressed a range of
> factual and legal issues related to the Gaza Operation, including the
> thousands of missile attacks that necessitated the Operation, and the
> deliberate Hamas entrenchment in civilian areas which made combat so
> complex and challenging."
>
> Israel also said Friday that the latest document "is not intended as a
> comprehensive rebuttal of the Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Report
> or a catalogue of the Report's flaws. The Paper does, however, note some
> of the Report's inaccuracies and misrepresentations of Israel's
> investigative system."
>
> Defense Minister Ehud Barak repeated Israeli criticism of the Goldstone
> report Friday. In his confirmation that the response had been submitted
> to the UN, Barak said that the UN document was "false, distorted, and
> irresponsible."
>
> The human rights council had urged the UN General Assembly to debate the
> Goldstone report and then refer the alleged crimes to the International
> Criminal Court at The Hague. That proposal has so far been not been
> acted upon.
>
> Instead, the General Assembly asked for its own report based on
> submissions from both sides - following another recommendation from the
> 547-page Goldstone report that both Israel and Hamas conduct their own
> investigations.
>
> In the report that Israel handed to the UN on Friday, it emphasized that
> its system of investigating alleged war crimes is comparable to the
> systems adopted by other democratic nations.
>
> "To date," the Israeli report states, "the IDF has launched
> investigations into 150 separate incidents arising from the Gaza
> Operation. Of the 150 incidents, so far 36 have been referred for
> criminal investigation. Criminal investigators have taken statements
> from almost 100 Palestinian complainants and witnesses, along with
> approximately 500 IDF soldiers and commanders."
>
> Hamas has also rejected claims that it committed war crimes, saying
> Thursday that it had not deliberately targeted Israeli civilians with
> the rocket fire from Gaza.
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> *** Balanced Middle East News ***
> MidEastweb http://www.mideastweb.org
> Subscribe - mail to mewnews-...@yahoogroups.com
>
> MewBkd - Background & analysis -
> mail to Mewbkd-s...@yahoogroups.com
>
> News Letter - our commentary -
> mail to mew-su...@yahoogroups.com
>
> En Francais - http://www.mideastweb.org/main-fr.htm
> Service d'informations - moinf
> Pour vous s'inscrire, envoyez un mail à : MOinf-s...@yahoogroupes.fr
>
> Opinions are not those of MidEastWeb or the editors. Original articles copyright by their authors, owners or MidEastWeb.
> Thank you.
> -- Managing subscriptions
> http://www.mideastweb.org/mewnewslist.htm
>
> PLEASE MANAGE YOUR OWN SUBSCRIPTION - THANKS!Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MewNews/
>
> <*> Your email settings:
> Individual Email | Traditional
>
> <*> To change settings online go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MewNews/join
> (Yahoo! ID required)
>
> <*> To change settings via email:
> MewNews...@yahoogroups.com
> MewNews-fu...@yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> MewNews-u...@yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>