Co-authors of scathing UN report into Israeli conduct defend conclusions

THE three co-authors of a scathing United Nations report on Israel’s conduct during its 2008-2009 offensive in Gaza have said they stand by their work.

They hit back at critics who have pushed to have its findings withdrawn after the report’s lead author, Richard Goldstone, aired doubts about one of its central conclusions.

Goldstone’s three colleagues — former Irish peacekeeper Desmond Travers, Pakistani human rights lawyer Hina Jilani and international law professor Christine Chinkin — said there was “no justification” for any move to review or rescind the 575-page report.