Goldstone: Peres attack on me was 'specious,' ill-befitting his post

South African jurist Richard Goldstone lambasted President Shimon Peres on Thursday for a personal attack on him, which the president launched in response to a damning report he compiled on Israel's winter offensive in Gaza.

"I would say that the President's comments are specious and ill-befitting the Head of the State of Israel," Goldstone said in an interview with Haaretz.

"I am content to be judged by my actions over the course of my career both in terms of my professional judicial career and my voluntary service."

The jurist was referring to comments Peres made on Wednesday to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during a meeting in Brasilia.

Peres told his Brazilian counterpart that, "Goldstone is a small man, devoid of any sense of justice, a technocrat with no real understanding of jurisprudence."

Goldstone added in the interview that while he anticipated there would be considerable criticism of the report from Israel, he was surprised at the many "nasty attacks" made against him personally.

In the United Nations report, which was released in September, the investigators accused both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes during the winter offensive, but focused mainly on alleged Israeli offences.