UN chief urged to monitor Gaza war crimes probe

THE Palestinians and their allies called on UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to monitor the Gaza war crimes investigations.

They say Ban should check whether Israel and Hamas were conducting credible probes into alleged abuses during their conflict last winter.

The proposal was contained in a draft resolution circulated to members of the UN Human Rights Council before a debate yesterday on a report which accuses Israeli forces and Palestinian militants of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

Nearly 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the December 27 to January 18 war.

Israel has tried to discredit the report and its authors, claiming the panel of UN experts led by former South African judge Richard Goldstone was biased against the Jewish state.

The Human Rights Council took up the report in early October, but Palestinian diplomats agreed to delay consideration until March, under pressure from the US, which feared it would jeopardise attempts to revive the peace process.

The delay sparked scathing criticism of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and led the Palestinians to reverse course.

The Security Council brought forward its monthly Middle East briefing to Wednesday and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Malki and Israel’s UN ambassador Gabriela Shalev traded accusations about the Goldstone report.

The resolution that Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria and others proposed to the Human Rights Council on Wednesday night endorses the Goldstone team’s findings. It asks Ban to report back to the council in March. The Goldstone report concluded Israel used disproportionate force, deliberately targeted civilians, used Palestinians as human shields, and destroyed civilian infrastructure during its incursion into Gaza against Palestinian rocket squads.

It accused Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, of deliberately targeting civilians and trying to spread terror through rocket attacks on southern Israel.