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GENEVA — A team of U.N. investigators will visit Gaza next week to examine whether Israeli troops and Hamas militants committed war crimes during their three-week conflict, the global body said Friday.
The mission led by South African prosecutor Richard Goldstone will depart Geneva for the Middle East on Saturday and is expected to cross into Gaza from Egypt on Monday, the U.N. said in a statement.
Goldstone said last week that he repeatedly asked the Israeli government to cooperate with the mission, to ensure that it can visit the southern part of the country and town of Sderot, which was hit repeatedly by Palestinian rockets, and then enter Gaza "through the front door."
The fact that the team is entering Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt indicates Israel has yet to extend its cooperation.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said the probe had "a mandate to find Israel guilty no matter what" from the U.N. Human Rights Council, which has a record of criticizing the Jewish state for its treatment of Palestinians.
"They (the investigators) have been instructed to prove that Israel is guilty and we will not collaborate with such a masquerade," said Yigal Palmor.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his support for the mission and asked Israel to work with the team, which 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 with expertise on international criminal investigations.
Israel has been at odds with the 47-nation council since its creation three years ago, and refused to cooperate with an earlier Gaza probe led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu.
Goldstone, a Jew with close ties to Israel, is a veteran prosecutor of war crimes in Rwanda and former Yugoslavia. He has said he wants his team to bring a balanced approach to the January conflict.
Israel launched its offensive against Gaza on Dec. 27 to try to halt eight years of rocket fire into its southern territory and deal a heavy blow to the Hamas militant group.
The operation killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, including more than 900 civilians, according to Palestinian officials and human rights groups. It also destroyed thousands of homes and heavily damaged Gaza's infrastructure.
Israel says the death toll was lower and most of the dead were Hamas militants. It blames Hamas for the civilian casualties, saying the militants used schools, mosques and residential areas for cover. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the fighting.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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{"commentId":7349685,"authorDomain":"truthBtold"}
{"commentId":7355768,"authorDomain":"kerwynw"}
"They (the investigators) have been instructed to prove that Israel is guilty and we will not collaborate with such a masquerade," said Yigal Palmor."
Read: We know that we're guilty so let's try the old guilty until proven innocent routine since we've used up the Anit Semitic card.
{"commentId":7355768,"threadId":"590643","contentId":"2877497","authorDomain":"kerwynw"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Fri May 29, 2009 8:46 PM EDT{"commentId":7356336,"authorDomain":"Wheel"}
My seed of the Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza.
Israel has consistantly refused to cooperate with any investigation they are not in charge of. The problem being, of course, that would be the same thing as the person accused of a crime being in charge of the investigation into the crime. That has been pointed out repeatedly by the Spanish court and other investigative bodies.
{"commentId":7356336,"threadId":"590643","contentId":"2877497","authorDomain":"Wheel"}
- 3 votes
#3 - Fri May 29, 2009 9:32 PM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"590643","isPrivate":false}
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