Gaza City, NU Online
A United Nations investigation team, headed by South African prosecutor Richard Goldstone, arrived here yesterday (1/6) to find out whether war crimes were committed in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli offensive earlier this year.
The 15-member team is charged by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating the actions of both the Israeli Army and Hamas during the Dec. 27-Jan. 18 war.<>
The team also includes Christine Chinkin, professor of international law at the London School of Economics; Hina Jilani, a human rights advocate from Pakistan; and Desmond Travers, a former officer in the Irish Armed Forces.
Israel has said it will not cooperate with the investigation team as it believes the investigation would not be objective.
Hamas said it would cooperate with the UN team and put all evidence and proof at their disposal to let them complete their mission. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the Israeli refusal to cooperate with the UN mission “is evidence that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza and is now attempting to escape from international justice.”
More than 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the three-week assault.
The investigators plan to spend a week in the Gaza Strip. (reu/dar)
A United Nations investigation team, headed by South African prosecutor Richard Goldstone, arrived here yesterday (1/6) to find out whether war crimes were committed in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli offensive earlier this year.
The 15-member team is charged by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating the actions of both the Israeli Army and Hamas during the Dec. 27-Jan. 18 war.<>
The team also includes Christine Chinkin, professor of international law at the London School of Economics; Hina Jilani, a human rights advocate from Pakistan; and Desmond Travers, a former officer in the Irish Armed Forces.
Israel has said it will not cooperate with the investigation team as it believes the investigation would not be objective.
Hamas said it would cooperate with the UN team and put all evidence and proof at their disposal to let them complete their mission. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the Israeli refusal to cooperate with the UN mission “is evidence that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza and is now attempting to escape from international justice.”
More than 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the three-week assault.
The investigators plan to spend a week in the Gaza Strip. (reu/dar)
