Justice Richard Goldstone, who headed the UN fact-finding mission to Gaza earlier this year, presented his final report to the Human Rights Council today.

Addressing the UN body, Goldstone rejected claims that the commission report is politically motivated, stating instead that the investigation was pursued according to the principle that “no state or armed group is above the law”. The failure to investigate claims of wrongdoing committed during the December-January Gaza conflict would, he said, “have a deeply corrosive effect on international justice.”

Collective Punishment
Goldstone expressed his regret that Israel has so far avoided “dealing with the substance of the report”, while praising the government of Egypt for facilitating the mission’s entry into Gaza after Israel refused to allow members of the UN mission into the country.

His speech reiterated the commission’s findings that numerous attacks during the Israeli operation amounted to “collective punishment [of the population of Gaza] and constitute war crimes”.

Recommendations
The report recommends that both Israel and the Gaza authorities conduct open and transparent investigations into possible crimes committed during the conflict, and that the UN Security Council set up a committee of independent experts to monitor the progress of these investigations. Should the investigations fail to materialise within a 6 month period, the report recommends that the Security Council refer the matter to the International Criminal Court.

In his concluding remarks, Goldstone stressed the importance of implementing the report’s recommendations. “Now is the time for action”, he said. “A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long.” 

Israel's statement

In a statement, Israel's permanent representative to the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Aharon Leshno-Yaar,  said:

"While Israel has cooperated with dozens of inquiries and investigations from international organizations and NGO's into the events in Gaza, it refused to cooperate with this Mission. And the report presented today fully justifies that decision."

He claimed that the report was "instigated as part of a political campaign" and based on "pre-screened Palestinian witnesses [...] and carefully selected incidents, cherry-picked for political effect".

He also said that the report "gives credibility to every allegation or hearsay against Israel, and none to even direct admissions of guilt by Hamas leaders."

In his concluding comments, Mr Leshno-Yaar said that the "one-sided report [...] can only weaken the standing of international law in future conflicts."