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UN rights body endorses Gaza war crimes report

October 16, 2009

GENEVA (Reuters) – The UN Human Rights Council has endorsed a Gaza report that accused both Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas of committing war crimes during the December-January war.

In a special session, 25 of the body's members voted in favor of the resolution that chastised Israel for failing to cooperate with the UN mission led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone. Another six voted against and 11 abstained.

Both Israel and Hamas have rejected the charges in the 575-page Goldstone report.

The report calls for the UN Security Council to refer the matter to the International Criminal Court if the Israelis or Palestinians fail to investigate the alleged abuses themselves.

But the resolution agreed in Geneva simply calls for the UN General Assembly to consider the Goldstone report and for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report back to the Human Rights Council on Israel's adherence to it.

Such moves would at a minimum keep up pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who Washington is trying to convince to commit to a "two-state solution" that previous Israeli governments have signed up to.

Link to original story on RFE/RL website

Topics: War crimes,