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Last update - 18:42 06/06/2009
UN investigator 'shocked' by scale of destruction in Gaza
By News Agencies
Tags: UN, Gaza, war crimes 

The head of a United Nations team investigating possible war crimes by Israel and Hamas during the Gaza war said Thursday he had been shocked by the scale of the destruction in the Palestinian areas.

South African Judge Richard Goldstone spoke at the end of a four-day fact-finding trip to Gaza, during which his 15-member team interviewed dozens of witnesses and visited sites damaged in Israel's three-week offensive against Hamas that ended Jan. 18.

His team hoped to visit Israel and the West Bank as well, but Israel has refused to cooperate, citing alleged anti-Israel bias by the U.N. Human Rights Council, the probe's sponsor.
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Goldstone said he hoped Israel's refusal would not weaken the final report, due in early September, adding that it would not keep the team from investigating allegations against both sides.

"If we haven't dealt with facts that Israel would like us to deal with, I think we can hardly be blamed for that," he said.

The team announced Thursday that it will hold public hearings with the war's victims later this month in Gaza and Geneva.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said he did not anticipate a
change in Israel's stand toward the investigation or the Human Right Council, which has a record of criticizing Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians.

"They should call us the day the Human Rights Council decides on a human rights inquiry on some other place around the globe," he said, mentioning Darfur and Sri Lanka. "After that, we may start to be convinced that they are not singling out Israel."

Israeli, Palestinian and international human rights groups began calling for war crimes investigations soon after the 22-day war ended in January.

Israeli launched the war to stop eight years of Hamas rocket fire on Israeli towns.

Palestinian human rights groups say more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed, most of them civilians. Israel says around 1,100 Gazans were killed and that most were militants. Thirteen Israelis were also killed, three of them civilians.

Goldstone refused to comment on the ongoing investigation's content. But human rights groups have said Israel used disproportionate force and failed to protect civilians. They say Hamas fought from civilian areas and is suspected of having used human shields - all of which can be violations of international law.

Goldstone, who previously investigated war crimes in Rwanda and the former
Yugoslavia, said the public hearings in Gaza and Geneva later this month would allow the voices and the faces of victims to be seen and heard by the whole international community.

He said both Palestinians and Israelis would be invited to speak in Geneva.


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  • IDF orders probe into allegations over Gaza war
  • UN envoy: Gaza op seems to be war crime of greatest magnitude

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      1.   be sure to take every testimony at face value 21:01  |  matt 04/06/09
      2.   It`s about time! Truth, please 21:32  |  ALASKA 04/06/09
      3.   I`m shocked! shocked! 02:35  |  Jasper 05/06/09
      4.   clearly these UN loosers have no concept of a `war zone` 03:05  |  Jon 05/06/09
      5.   UN Condemns US for Atom Bombs on Japan 03:10  |  Frankie Littlehammer 05/06/09
      6.   Shocked By Gaza War Damage, Judge Goldstone? 03:50  |  Jeff Northridge 05/06/09
      7.   He wil be shocked again if they restart lobbing rockets 04:04  |  J Donald 05/06/09
      8.   2 Alaska - Just as long as UN allows 04:05  |  Malach HaMavet 05/06/09
      9.   Destruction in Gaza 04:07  |  G..B. 05/06/09
      10.   Investigate the CAUSE, They wear NO Uniforms, use human shields 04:10  |  GZLives 05/06/09
      11.   War Crimes 08:50  |  Jack Olson 05/06/09
      12.   Im shocked 14:58  |  Gary 05/06/09
      13.   Perverse 18:28  |  Goldberg 05/06/09
      14.   UN Investigation and Israel 18:29  |  Lee 05/06/09
      15.   Investigations 18:35  |  Goldberg 05/06/09
      16.   who says rockets cant cause damage 19:11  |  evolve already 05/06/09
      17.   Two wrongs dont make a right 22:05  |  ezzat tamimi 05/06/09
      18.   Complacency will get you nowhere 22:25  |  ezzat tamimi 05/06/09
      19.   how about report on treatment of Gilad! 22:57  |  Igor D. 05/06/09
      20.   Goldstone Shocked by Scale of Destruction Wow 23:18  |  Gil 05/06/09
      21.   Olmert 03:00  |  Iain 06/06/09
      22.   Gaza destruction 03:44  |  margaret 06/06/09
      23.   Much more than "Two wrongs" 03:55  |  Bruce 06/06/09
      24.   Bruce, Hamas is cooperating with the investigation... 04:31  |  BBSNews 06/06/09
      25.   Iain re: Olmert 05:13  |  Jasper 06/06/09
      26.   #Jasper. Wikipedia, Huffington Post, Palestinian media... 08:47  |  Maureen Ann 06/06/09
      27.   to #26 Muvais Ann 10:46  |  Nightmare 06/06/09
      28.   The majority of Nations in the UN are moslem states 11:00  |  Abraham the Jew 06/06/09
      29.   shock 12:30  |  once more 06/06/09
      30.   it should be hamas` task to protect palestinian civilians... 12:31  |  scallywag 06/06/09
      31.   jack olson 12:34  |  scallywag 06/06/09
      32.   "Israel launched the war to stop eight years.." Lies... 12:35  |  peacelover 06/06/09
      33.   lee 12:37  |  scallywag 06/06/09
      34.   BBSnews - Sure Hamas is cooperating 17:09  |  Malalch HaMavet 06/06/09
      35.   peacelover @#32 17:41  |  Akiva P 06/06/09
      36.   peacelover 18:06  |  scallywag 06/06/09
      37.   ezzat tamimi 18:07  |  scallywag 06/06/09
      38.   maureen ann re jasper 18:08  |  scallywag 06/06/09
      39.   margaret 18:09  |  scallywag 06/06/09
      40.   un 19:17  |  oz 06/06/09
      41.   Extent of destruction 06:39  |  JW 07/06/09
      42.   oz 10:12  |  Dreams 07/06/09
      43.   #26 Maureen Ann Are you really that desperate? 18:25  |  Malach HaMavet 07/06/09
      44.   20 Gil, Re: Shocked by the destructionin Gaza 07:26  |  Dutch 08/06/09
      45.   #42 Goldstone does not have clsoe ties with Israel 20:44  |  world observer 26/06/09
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