UN likely to refer Goldstone findings to The Hague

[Cees Binkhorst]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Last update - 08:23 07/02/2010  	 	 	
UN likely to refer Goldstone findings to The Hague
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1147999.html
By Shlomo Shamir, Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff , Haaretz
Correspondents and Agencies
Tags: Hamas, Gaza
Arab states set to force debate that would bring Gaza war crimes claims
before international court.


The United Nations is likely to refer the findings of the Goldstone
report to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, diplomatic
sources in New York said on Saturday.

A decision to bring the report on last year's Gaza war before the court
would follow a debate in the UN General Assembly over Secretary General
Ban Ki-Moon's response to the document last week.

Assembly president Ali Abdussalam Treki announced on Saturday that
member states were drawing up a plan of action over Ban's answer to the
report, in which retired South African Judge Richard Goldstone accused
both Israel and Hamas of war crimes.
	Advertisement

Treki, a senior Libyan diplomat, did not give a target date for a debate
by the assembly - but the tone of his press release implied that he
would push for a full discussion of the issue, diplomats said.

Ban himself is thought not to support a general session, fearing that
further criticism of Israel would only delay the renewal of
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Most UN-watchers believe that Arab member states will demand a plenary
session on the report, however.

Senior UN diplomats note, meanwhile, that one consequence of the
Goldstone inquiry is that Hamas, which along with Israel issued a formal
response, has become a quasi-official actor in the UN arena.

In his report, Ban wrote that Israel had responded to all the
accusations against it. But he added that it was too early to say
whether recommendations had yet been implemented by Israel and Hamas, as
the parties were still conducting investigations.

The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said on Friday that Israel was
satisfied with Ban's statement, which was an "accurate representation"
of the Israeli submission.

Hamas on Saturday appeared to backtrack on last week's apology for
harming Israeli civilians in rocket attacks. The Goldstone report
accused Hamas of firing rockets indiscriminately at civilians.

The militant group, which controls the Gaza strip, had said previously
that its rockets were meant to defend Gazans against Israeli military
strikes: "We apologize for any harm that might have come to Israeli
civilians," the Hamas government wrote in an intial reponse to the
Goldstone report.

But on Saturday Hamas said in statement that its response the UN had
been misinterpreted and contained no apologies. Hamas officials declined
to give any further comment.

"Hamas is a terror organization whose main purpose is to attack
civilians, so it's not surprising that they would retract their
apology," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Andy David told the
Associated Press on Saturday.

"For years Hamas has boasted about deliberately targeting civilians,
either through suicide bombings, by gunfire or by rockets," Palmor said
Saturday. "Who are they trying to fool now?"

Title:	Not if US Vetoes
Name:	Mark of Lewiston	
City:	Lewiston	State:	USA	
The US will veto any move through the Security Council.

In appreciation, the Israeli PMO (leaks) and right wing will dump on
Obama and help spread the story that he is a commie fascist Muslim for
suggesting that he have any independent thinking, particularly about
peace or avoiding war with Iran. We will all be reminded of his middle name.

Then Obama will make excuses for Israel`s treatment of Gaza and explain
that Netanyahu really does want peace but is prevented by his unnamed
coalition partners.

Kabuki theatre at its best.

itle:	No US veto power in the GA #1 (Cees: General Assembly)
Name:	Michael N	
City:		State:		
If the GA votes to refer the Godstone report to the ICC , the decision
will stand. The US cannot veto any GA resolution. Whatever the decision
by the ICC, Israel will ignore as it did the decision regarding the
separation wall. The result of an unfavorable ICC juducial decision
against Israel will just add to the detrimental cummulative effect on
world`s opinion and attitude towards Israel. Israel already feels the
pinch which causes it to squirm.

**********
Dit bericht is verzonden via de informele D66 discussielijst (D66 at nic.surfnet.nl).
Aanmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SUBSCRIBE D66 uwvoornaam uwachternaam
Afmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SIGNOFF D66
Het on-line archief is te vinden op: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/d66.html
**********