UN to debate Goldstone Gaza report next week

IN Their Own Word: "February 1919 to choose Palestinian representatives for the Paris Peace Conference, the following resolution was adopted: We consider Palestine as part of Arab Syria, as it has never been separated from it at any time. We are connected with it by national, religious, linguistic, natural, economic and geographical bonds." "In 1937, a local Arab leader, Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, told the Peel Commission, which ultimately suggested the partition of Palestine: ?There is no such country as Palestine! ?Palestine? is a term the Zionists invented! There is no Palestine in the Bible. Our country was for centuries part of Syria.7" "1947:Ahmed Shuqeiri, later the chairman of the PLO, told the Security Council: ?It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but southern Syria.?" "Princeton University Prof. Philip Hitti, testified against partition before the Anglo-American Committee in 1946, he said: ?There is no such thing as ?Palestine? in history, absolutely not.?"

Israeli invaders? The oldest known reference to a nation called Israel is actually Egyptian, not Hebrew. It is an inscription on a stone block from the Pharaoh Merentpah (son of Rameses II) made more than 3,200 years ago, long before the Arab invaders of the 7th century. The Merenptah inscription is instructive. The Egyptian word for "Israel? and the hieroglyphic determinant for a nation, three throw-sticks and a man and a woman, are unmistakable. The inscription describes the Pharoah?s defeat of other groups in ancient Canaan and boasts that Israel has been ?wiped out?. You have to laugh. Some things never change.

In Gaza, either two combatants were killed for each civilian (Israel's version) or the reverse (the Palestinian version). In the 1991 Gulf war, a lawful war authorized by the UN, the ratio was 2.125 civilian deaths for each enemy combatant killed. In the 2003 Iraq war it was 4.5 civilians per enemy combatant. In attacks by drone aircraft in Afghanistan, 10 civilians have died for each enemy combatant killed. The Goldstone report interprets and applies the standards set by international humanitarian law in a way that no western or other military force accepts in practice.

BBs Bullshiter "The US Army does not shoot civilians with white flags, it is not anything like the IDF". did you forget in Afghanistan UsA blew up civilians in the Red Cross? Did you forget USA blew up Civilains in Afghanistan when they celebrated a Wedding.

Edgar "Israel, which for more than 40 years has defied UN resolutions" but you failed to mention Palestinians defied Un 1947 Resolution which borught the Jews to war against Palestinians and muslim countries in 48 56 76 73 and so on. While you scream israel defied UN what is your excuse Of Palestinians defying UN resolutions over 60 years?

Few universal truths beyond death and taxes. But one is the definition of Justice: what serves the Ruling Class. GA does not rule, SC rules. Enlightened secular democracies are still in charge of the UN and if that makes them in charge of the world, I give thanks. SC knows what Israel has been through since 70 and esp. 1948. As enlightened people, they know that Jews have always flourished where they were allowed to. They know that Jews have created key breakthroughs in civilization in addition to countless other life improvement that the world now takes for granted. In other words, Jews produce, and strive for sensible life on the planet. Their declared foes offer the contributions and thought processes of the 8th Century. GA will jabber, but when the smoke clears, who is going to be deemed more valuable to have around to solve far greater problems ahead? That is what the SC decides, in line with their preferred vision of the world: Order, or Chaos

Just an observation... Im really really happy to see the majority of the comments here are true to what the reality if on the ground. Israel is the bully of the region and with the help of the new media, people all over the world can now see the "catastrophe" that the Palestinians have been enduring for over 60 years. It is high time the world wakes up and puts an end to the Israeli atrocities. Stopping all US aid to Israel would be the best way to start. Spear the word ! Keep on blogging for peace !!

can not have "of a God-given right to the Holy Land" by definition. catholics are notorious for very limited knowledge of scripture.

nothing to worry about is it? Afterall Israel has a credible defence for the accusations of war crimes doesn't it? Surely Israel will welcome a frank and open discussion of the Goldstone Report and the opportunity to refute the findings.

"But Palestinians are an invented Arab people, a country that has never existed in history." And the Israelis are doing their best to exterminate or drive away what is left of this "invented" people who never existed, and whose country never was. Tell me, Mark from Georgia, are you a jew? If so, chances are you are probably not a real Hebrew jew descended from Shem, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I speculate that you are probably an "invented" jew, a jew who holds a phony deed to the land, who has "invented" a bogus jewish heritage, and whose ancestors had no more of a God-given right to the Holy Land than mine did.

"So every reason for them to hit the road and vamoose back over the Green Line." Just because you have a disdain for Jews living on lands they were only absent from for 19 years, doesn't mean your reasoning is sound -- such outlandish racism rarely, if ever, is.

"Nope SDHD. Half of Palestine became Israel in 1948, so the peoples inside the new Israeli border ceased being Palestinian and became Israeli overnight. The settlers are not Palestinians, apart from a handful of pre-1948 ones. " Yup Cummings. Jews had the right to reclaim and develop their communities after only being absent for 19 years. Just because they were kicked out for 19 years doesn't mean they are no longer the rightful property of Jewish Palestinians who sold their properties to whomever they chose.

The moral forces of the world have casted their vote and decided who is guilty.

Since Cast Lead.Even having destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure and having slaughtered hundreds of women and children,even without rockets falling on Sderot, Israel still obstructs reconstruction in Gaza. Its absolute determination to enforce collective punishment on 1.5 million Gazans will generate a new breed of radicalism in time that will challenge Hamas, in much the same way that oppression of the Palestinians and repression of the PLO led to the rise of Hamas. It is predictable and almost inevitable. It's also an insane policy by the Israelis. They would simply rather have al Queda on their doorstep whilst continuing with military measures and economic vandalism than live with a viable Palestinian state. They will do anything to stop such a state, even if it means endless wars and destruction.

Agents provocateurs have been used by occupying powers for decades in this conflioct. Remember all those targeted assassinations carried out by israeli agents disguised as Arabs. The French used them as well in Algiers. Of course Israel carries out these operatins and balmes others. Keeps things stirred up. All part of colonial policy.

RC: Palestine existed from the lawfully-formed British Mandate in 1920. Everyone in it from that day forth became a Palestinian in law, Jew or Arab." SDHD: Then there`s justifiable no reason for Jews to hit the road out of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is there? Nope SDHD. Half of Palestine became Israel in 1948, so the peoples inside the new Israeli border ceased being Palestinian and became Israeli overnight. The settlers are not Palestinians, apart from a handful of pre-1948 ones. They are Jews who Israel has illegally settled on the West Bank, contrary to international law. So every reason for them to hit the road and vamoose back over the Green Line.

"Proportionality, and therefore disproportionately, is established in a large body of international humanitarian law (IHL) rulings. e.g." The military objective was to end 8 years of rocket attacks. The proportion required to achieve that objective wasn't reached, was it?

Proportionality, and therefore disproportionately, is established in a large body of international humanitarian law (IHL) rulings. e.g. Proportionality and IHL under the UN Charter Modern IHL limits the effects of warfare for both combatants and civilians. The concept of proportionately... plays a pivotal role in this process. It is part of the 'law of the Hague' that deals with the conduct of warfare. The rules derived from the principal that armed conflict should not be conducted in a disproportionate manner take different forms in relation to combatants and civilians. Combatants are legitimate targets in armed conflict, whereas civilians are not...' etc., etc. Try 'Necessity, proportionality and the use of force by states' (Gardam), it sets out a good overview. You and Mark are still confusing disproportionality against combatants, which is not forbidden, with disproportionality against civilians, which certainly is. As Israel will find out the hard way if this goes to court

...don't you think it would behoove you to actually read the Goldstone Report before asking legal questions about it? Page 83-4, paragraph 272: "Many of the rules contained in the Fourth Hague Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and the Regulations annexed to it, and the four Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are now part of customary international law. Israel?s High Court of Justice has confirmed that Israel must adhere to those rules and principles reflected in the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Regulations annexed to the Fourth Hague Convention and the customary international law principles reflected in certain provisions of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The Government of Israel accepts that, although it is not a party to the Additional Protocol I, some of its provisions accurately reflect customary international law." Read the report.

"There are 56 Islamic countries out of 192 in the UN. i.e. 29%. The other 71% are predominantly Christian.." Another fact I did not know. And when should we tell India and China -- both with over 1 billion population -- that they are "predominantly Christian"? Your usual rigorous attention to the facts is much appreciated...

"Wrong, nil point. Palestine existed from the lawfully-formed British Mandate in 1920. Everyone in it from that day forth became a Palestinian in law, Jew or Arab." Then there's justifiable no reason for Jews to hit the road out of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, is there?

"Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkof used overwhelming force in Gulf War 1, but they used it against an enemy army in the field." Was that bomb dropped on the Chinese embassy "in the field?" How about the dozens of people killed by a bunker-buster in a bomb shelter? All those American rockets raining down on Iraq from ships in the Gulf. Was that "in the field too?" Cummings, why don't you THINK before you write?

"One man`s terrorist can so often be another`s freedom fighter." One man's cliche can be used so unintelligently. It's very clear who terrorists are -- when they overtly target civilians -- which is precisely what Hamas does.

"The gist is Sderot was a political sacrifice to ensure the rockets kept coming." The gist is that the Palestinians continued firing hard-to-intercept rockets into S'Derot, brain trust.

When israel signed and ratified the 1977 aditionsl protocols I to fourth GC as far as i know israel using the same wording as the USA backed out of that prior to ratification therefore they are not bound by it please advise the law using letter of the law where israel is bound to restrict it's use of force I agree mark laws of proportionality allow a weaker aggressor to dictate terms of engagement while tying hands of larger military which makes no sense to ever agree to

- that openly have given cover to sudan's president bashir a-f-t-er he already had been indicted for all the worst crimes possible (ie war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing..) on an incomparable scale in darfur. notably, bashir was thus officially & openly endorsed & supported by ahmadinejad in a meeting of the non-aligned countries not very long time ago & this was all reported in the news. more recently mubarak himself gave open support to bashir. this is how much these specific countries care about human rights. the scenario one could envision at this moment is one were israli officers &/officials would risk being arrested on major western airports while bashir would continue being at ease & comfortably keep travelling 'his' part of the world.

question from Mark, Georgia. 'But Palestinians are an invented Arab people, a country that has never existed in history'. Wrong, nil point. Palestine existed from the lawfully-formed British Mandate in 1920. Everyone in it from that day forth became a Palestinian in law, Jew or Arab. The same with any colony or mandate. People in Kenya became Kenyans, regardless of their tribe or religion, ditto people in Nigeria, Laos, Aden, etc. Mark is confusing nationality with RACE, that dangerous grey area of bloodlines, skin colour, tribal affiliation and racial purity. Nationality is defined simply by borders on a map. These set the extent of the nation. All who live within these borders are legally part of that nation. Ergo, the Palestinian people Do exist and have done so for 69 years.

"Isn`t there a substantial amount of evidence to show that Hamas did use civilans directly as Human Shields" No.Not directly. You pose a question and then assume an affirmative answer. A NYT freelance reporter and I am not sure who else supports that contention. There is howeber detailed testimony as to the Israeli use of human shields in Gaza and testimony from IDF. "Furthermore, if Hamas, didnt allow its people to leave" Hamas never prevented people from vacating their homes. However Israel provided either no route to safety for them when they did vacate, or on occasions told them to seek locations where they proceeded to bomb. In any case, even if it is found that Hamas did use Human shields, this in no way mitigates Israel's own use of such tactics nor its wanton destruction of industrial areas and vegetation. These are examples of collective punishment. Under no circumstances does one sides abrogation of the laws of war let the other side off the hook.

...Human Shields? Isn't there a substantial amount of evidence to show that Hamas did use civilans directly as Human Shields. Furthermore, if Hamas, didnt allow its people to leave and chose locations for rocket launcher and other means of attack inside civilian areas, isn't that using civilians, indirectly, atleast as human shields?

Israel has no right to exist, correct? But Palestinians an invented Arab people, a country that has never existed in history, Arabs who considered themselves Syrian(whose leaders were members of the Syrian Parliament) and who legally sold their land to Jews have more of a right to the land! The Palestinian leaders themselves are on record as saying, they invented the Palestinian people as simply weapon to use against Israel. The reasoning according to the Arabs was a Syrian or Jordanian couldn't make a legal claim to all of Israel. But a invented people(the Palestinian)could make a claim to Haifa and other such Israeli cities. Your logic truly is bizarre.

Generals Colin Powell and Norman Schwarzkof used overwhelming force in Gulf War 1, but they used it against an enemy army in the field. Israel in Cast Lead used overwhelming force against a CIVILIAN urban area. There is a big difference. It the courts decide that Israel used 'disproportionate force' against civilians, that will say they went over the top and engaged in the deliberate punishment of civilians. A bit like if you picked a flower from my garden and I shot you with a hunting rifle, a disproportionate response.

no doubt about it. It's become a terrorist enabling organization.

http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/court-trade-israel.16a The best bit: "Israel's borders were defined by the Plan for the Partition of Palestine, approved on 29 November 1947 by the United Nations."

...when it happens to be Israel...with spontaneous sympathy too! But why so seldom? Do you really think that Israel is the überdog when it is facing the antagonistic majority of the world condemning it in the UN? Like China, Russia, India, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Brazil, Argentina, etc? Did you hear Ahmadinejad prodding Obama to "choose between Israel and world prestige"...?

Prophet says: 'All Israel has to do is get an eminent retired judge to conduct an impartial and independent investigation. A handful of low-level charges may result. This would be more than outweighed by the rubbishing the Goldstone report would suffer in a real investigation.' Prophet is clearly a supreme optimist. It is far more likely that any objective judge, even an Israeli one, would conclude that Goldstone was unerringly accurate, followed by an armful of high level charges against senior political and military figures. The civilian death toll was just way too high to sweep Cast Lead under the mat.

they want the US to sign a Sea Treaty giving the UN domain over all of the seas and oceans. The UN is now investigating housing for the poor in the US and the right to food as well. The UN is doing all of this to punish the US for refusing to give up our sovereign rights to them. The idiots at the UN want to over ride our Constitution, read Agenda 21. It's all part of the insidious plan.

Israel cannot defend itself without US support. Israel behave the way they do because of America's help.

I strongly recommend that Israel should ignore all statements comming from the UN through the media and wait for the outcome. In the meantime, prepare legal documents and have the international legal team prepare for legal arguments. The more you answer these taunts, the more they will know your strategy. It is very difficult to accuse Israel without concrete evidense, like in all crime cases, you require proper evidense and the 'murder weapon'. Goldstone has the words of a terror organization. Does anyone think that a judge is stupid? Goldstone or not....he is not G-D, remember. This will bound to backfire on him.

There are 56 Islamic countries out of 192 in the UN. i.e. 29%. The other 71% are predominantly Christian. I know Lieberman and Bibi have been offending them at a rate of knots, but that surely still leaves Israel with a great numerical advantage, no? (Not that the UN really votes in racial or religious blocks in practice). The reason that Israel will lose heavily in this UNGA vote is simple. People and governments around the world were rather appalled by the high civilian casualties in Cast Lead. And they have been further provoked by Israel's denials, blame transfer, refusal to cooperate with a UN Mission and refusal to carry out an independent judicial inquiry, as laid down by Goldstone. In short, Israel got itself in a hole and has just kept on digging it deeper and deeper. Israel is yet again the sole author of its own misfortunes and the sooner sensible Israelis address this fair and square, the sooner Israel's reputation and prestige will recover.

...to this day an amorphous, imprecisely focused retribution, since Bin-Leidin continues to hold court on some Pakistani hilltop or underground cave... whereas retaliation onto the fully exposed Gaza population, mainly women & children, has brought us endless complications with UN forums... ...as to the expectation that the Pals would flourish under long-term embargo, am speechless.........

and going after terrorists is now a crime. The precedent has been set and with Obama as weak and wishy washy as he is, the can of worms will be open even further. What is really sick is the countries who are despotic, have child soldiers, kill hundreds of thousands in the name of Islam will never be judged. The West has become so PC we can't see the forest for the trees. Frankly the whole thing isn't about justice, it's about geting even for what people perceive as colonialist crimes. The US and Israel are not Imperialists, that was Europe.

So where are the invetigations? You see, there is nothing wrong to ivesitgate BUT IF YOU INVESTIGATE ONLY ONE COUNTRY ONLY AND IGNORE THE REST YOU ARE ATNISEMIATE. Oh sorry, China, Sudan are on the UNHRC, forgot it. Do you see the farce here or not?

...you seem to be missing one big crucial difference, the United States is operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan in coordination with their political and military echelons. Israel on the other hand, acted against a captive civilian population that has been occupied by them for forty-two years. The United States investigates these matters openly with the local populations, including meeting with family members and compensating them where appropriate. The Israel establishment "investigates" internally, refuses any cooperation with international authorities, and releases a report that invariably sounds like a Cold War statement - "Israel investigated the charges and found no basis for them, this matter is closed" - followed of course by the rote absurdity "the IDF is the most moral army in the world." The US Army does not shoot civilians with white flags, it is not anything like the IDF.

Peter SM bemoans the fact that Goldstone does not describe Hamas as 'a terrorist organisation'. Do you know why the ICC doesn't do terrorist cases? Because there is NO agreed legal definition of what constitutes a terrorist. One man's terrorist can so often be another's freedom fighter. The judges and courts look at THE CRIME, not the political label. If any army, whether a state one in uniform or an insurgent one in mufti, uses terror methods against civilians, they are deemed to be war criminals. That is why no judge is going to describe Hamas as 'terrorists', it is a meaningless label in legal terms.

You have it wrong: Again. What Israel accomplished was a near cessation of rocket fire from hamas. If America really though Israel's target was civilian such as Hamas targeting Israelis, America would endorse Goldstone. After 8 years of rockets, Shalit and a declaration of victory by hamas America won't lift a finger for hamas. Israel's responsibility is to secure its citizens from terror, not worry about the Goldstones of this world. There was no Goldstone during 8 years of rockets and no UN action over hamas kidnapping and traetment of Shalit. Israel knows this, America knows this.

...that is one cool piece of defensive weaponry. And first it was censored by Haaretz last year or the year before, and we kept plugging away, Chris, me, several others and then Haaretz finally reported about it. The gist is Sderot was a political sacrifice to ensure the rockets kept coming. Without an "existential" (yeah, right) foe to fight, people might start looking at the colonies and the colonists Israel wants to keep. I remember watching on Israeli TV one of the few people to actually be killed by a rocket, he was a little younger than me, they carried him out of his 2nd floor place and he died soon after. He could have been saved. But Israel's political establishment needs those rockets, so he was sacrificed for them for the greater good of Eretz Israel.

Unless hamas is front and center there is no need for any general assembly action. The west knows this and will act accordingly. The Arabs, to them there never were any rockets.

'terrorists fighting among civilians". Gaza has 1.5 m people in 130 sq miles, giving it the highest state population density in the world. It is a built-up area filled with civilians. So given there is a wall round Gaza and no one can go anywhere, anywhere that Hamas fights will inevitably be a civilian area. That is an argument for an invading army like Israel's to deploy disciplined infantry in house-to-house, street by street clearance, not hid behind imprecise fire support weapons at longer ranges, which assure that the 'collateral' damage and civilian deaths will be sky high. As indeed they were as a result of the heavy-handed Cast Lead.

...and the Goldstone Report points out the whole sordid lie in detail. There was no use of human shields by Palestinian militant groups nor were ambulances used by militants. See pages 147-48 for the findings. If you have evidence that shows otherwise, send it along to the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights. It will need to be real evidence though, not the fabrications that the Goldstone Commission found were told by Israel officials.

A fact you may already know Esther. Israel plans to install a defensive system to shoot down rockets and mortar shells in the towns within range of Qassams and Grads from Gaza and also on the Lebanon border. This is basically a radar-controlled, high-speed missile system. That defence could have been in place four years ago. The Raytheo0n C-Ram system, which is basically a radar-controlled high-speed gun derivative of the Phalanx system on warships, is in use with US forces and has an 85% interception success rate, was proposed and would have been a good choice. It was however turned down by Israel for rather questionable reasons, as they wished to develop their own Rafael missile system, Iron Dome. This will not be in-service until 2010 or 2011 and the missile is said to be prohibitively expensive. One wonders if installing the Phalanx system 4 years ago might have been the smarter option as regards defending the good people of Sederot and Ashkelon.

"Ban also urged Israel..." That's right: simply "urge" Israel, which for more than 40 years has defied UN resolutions; and the never-ending building of settlements is "unhelpful," the bulldozing of Palestinian homes "provocative" -- maybe if the world talked tougher to the Jews over the last 40 years the world wouldn't be in the mess it is.

If the report is brought to the Security Council, its veto by the US will only continue to diminish its perception in the Arab world as being a rubber stamp for criminal actions and occupation. Israel is clearly petrified of this even being discussed in the General Assembly. Their campaign to discredit any and all agencies or nations that hold Israel accountable are well underway. But something has taken place here by this lastest act of Israeli agression that cannot be stopped. It now has a life of its own and it is only the beginning. Even the US's cowtowing to a right wing israeli government will not be able to stop this road to justice.

Who will judge Israel? Saudia Arabia where women are lashed for western dress or Jordan where teachers are imprisoned for striking or Somalia where clitorectomies are daily fare or Egypt where child prostitutes dot the streets of Cairo? No Arab state has a regularly elected president chosen in an open election for a set term. They are either monarchies or dictatorships where women and children are hostage to fun and fantasy like chattel. 9/11 brought death and destruction to Afghanastan and Iraq and thousands of ordinary citizens fall daily. Gazas destruction was brought on the Gazans by themselves when they elected the terrorist Hamas.Perhaps an embargo on the PALS and Hamas for 17 years might force them to build a state like the Jews did.

"A world opinion poll showed that 71% of American facvor being neutral in this conflict. " Repeated Gallup Polls show that Americans are in favor of continued support of Israel and have a highly unfavorable opinion of the Palestinians. So?

United Nations (AFP) Oct 27, 2009 US drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan could be breaking international laws against summary executions, the UN's top investigator of such crimes said Tuesday. "The problem with the United States is that it is making an increased use of drones/Predators (which are) particularly prominently used now in relation to Pakistan and Afghanistan," UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions Philip Alston told a press conference. "My concern is that drones/Predators are being operated in a framework which may well violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law," he said. US strikes with remote-controlled aircraft against Al-Qaeda and Taliban targets in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan have often resulted in civilian deaths and drawn bitter criticism from local populations. "The onus is really on the United States government to reveal more about the ways in which it makes sure that arbitrary extrajudicial executions aren't in fact being carried out through the use of these weapons," he added. Alston said he presented a report on the matter to the UN General Assembly. He urged the United States to be more forthright about how and when it uses drone aircraft, something about which the US Defense Department and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) usually keep silent. "We need the United States to be more up front and say, 'OK, we're willing to discuss some aspects of this program,' otherwise you have the really problematic bottom line that the CIA is running a program that is killing significant numbers of people and there is absolutely no accountability in terms of the relevant international laws," Alston said. Since August 2008, around 70 strikes by unmanned aircraft have killed close to 600 people in northwestern Pakistan. "I would like to know the legal basis upon which the United States is operating, in other words... who is running the program, what accountability mechanisms are in place in relation to that," Alston said. "Secondly, what precautions the United States is taking to ensure that these weapons are used strictly for purposes consistent with international humanitarian law. "Third, what sort of review mechanism is there to evaluate when these weapons have been used? Those are the issues I'd like to see addressed," the UN official said.

Scape goats! The Israeli military did some very bad things in Gaza and you most be held accountable. As a 60 yo American, I'm tired of this silly excuse coming from mouths of people-- in the "window bewtween two American Presidents" IDF attack Gaza and didn't stop. There was the first cease-fire (bt Barak) and the UN requested cease fire and fighting coninued. IDF and Israeli decision makers are not scape goats and need to held accountable. Yes, 7,700 rockets came from Gaza for 8 years. So Why Attack in Jan'09 and stop two days before Obama's inaugeration? Why not attack after 1,00 rockets or wait until 10,000. About the Army's practice of "Dilyla" (sic.)check it out.

"Israel is far outnumbered in the UN, a fact that she should have taken into account in the first place... Israel had thought that she had carte-blanche" Israel isn't as stupid as you make it out to be. You think the Israeli government is unaware of what the Human Rights Council would do after all the initiatives it has taken against Israel over time? Only if Israel were a completely stupid country would its people think that it has carte blanche in the UN. Your making such a ludicrous statement is only a reflection of YOUR maladjusted mindset.

The feeble resistance which Israel receives via Qassam is a small fraction of what might be expected. All Israeli arguments must start with the supposition that they are fully justified to have taken and to continue to take the land of the Palestinians. This supposition is only common among Jews inside and outside of Israel.

I don't believe in the idea of "disproportionate force" it is simply a way to force the winner to lose. It is an attempt to neutralize not only Israel but the the USA as well. In Gulf War 1 both Generals Colin Powell and the other...I forgot his name, excuse me...used the doctrine of overwhelming force to make the War end quickly and decisively. If this idea of "disproportionate force" gains approval it will allow our enemies to conduct low grade attacks without any consequences. Which IS what they hope to achieve. They simply want to neutralize Israel and the USA's superior military. It should be rejected.

Nowdays the UNO had fallen uder the sway of third world's countries. I don't understand because the West trusts this organation again.For me, it should dismantled.

Expect to see audio and visual presentations. Video: IDF soldiers testifying to atrocities Audio: The sound of Israel gnashing her collective teeth.

to the everyday life of the many NYC residents. Really, the UN should be relocated to Jakarta - given Mohammedan flavor of the event.

A world opinion poll showed that 71% of American facvor being neutral in this conflict. There are no American issues here, it is a religious/tribal war that does not involve America.

Only a Chapter VII resolution of the UNSC can enliven the ICC's jurisdiction in this case. All Israel has to do is get an eminent retired judge to conduct an impartial and independent investigation. A handful of low-level charges may result. This would be more than outweighed by the rubbishing the Goldstone report would suffer in a real investigation. And the whole matter would then be rendered inadmissible in the ICC under Article 17 of its Statute, something the US could comfortably enforce by exercise of the veto if the matter ever makes it to the UNSC.

...not read/understood the Goldstone report... ...also, you are very far away from the scene of mutual mayhem... ...yes, indeed, Israel is far outnumbered in the UN, a fact that she should have taken into account in the first place... Israel had thought that she had carte-blanche...

Mr Goldstone if Zimbabwe sent rockets into SA hell would break out and you know it. Stop trying to whiten yourself in the eyes of the world muslim and anti/israel population there is more than enough done by them against Israel.

I tried responding to your *Goldstone speaks out of both sides of his mouth* calumny, with reference to a Forward interview with Goldstone that you cited: The trouble is Goldstone is simply one hard nut to smear. Keep trying though. It's quite amusing to watch the desperate measures barely credible apologists will go to shut up dissenting *Zionists*! See his response re Forward misinterpretation in this JC interview. [More like a lack of comprehension on Forwards part] Q: In one newspaper (The Forward), you were quoted as saying that the report was ?a roadmap for investigators? and not evidence for a court case. But is this not a problem in that many people have taken the report as a prosecutors? document? A: I am happy to have the opportunity of responding to what was either misunderstood or misreported in The Forward. I explained to the journalists that the UN Fact-Finding Mission was not a judicial or even a quasi-judicial proceeding. It was a mission to establish the facts relating to the commission of violations of international law. As the report made clear, we did not apply a criminal standard of proof, i.e. proof beyond a reasonable doubt. We based our finding on what we saw with our own eyes and the evidence we heard with our own ears. We carefully checked the evidence against other established facts and reports, and had regard to the consistency of the versions given by the people with whom we spoke. In a substantial number of cases, we checked the information against other evidence, including photographs and satellite imagery. We did not attempt to identify persons who might be responsible for the commission of the alleged violations ? that was not within our mandate and, in any event, we did not have the resources or time to do that. We did not collect any information for the purpose of prosecutions ? that would be a consequence only of a formal inquiry and that is what we have recommended. I might add that there have been many other similar fact-finding missions. They were conducted prior to the establishment of both the Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunals, and they were useful when determining where we should direct our investigations. To suggest that this explanation is a backtracking on my part is without any foundation. Goldstone. http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/21242/goldstone-i-believed-it-would-be-good-israel

that your lot do not controll. Where people fighting terror,not supporting it, have to examine the ramifications of allowing terrorists to get away with fighting amongst civillians then crying human rights.

Did you know that the EU and UN rejected the peace proposal between Egypt and Israel before it was signed - and which led to lasting peace between the 2 nations? As I have actually read the Goldstone Report I know that it a completely political document aimed at Israel that has no bearing on justice or the truth. As the UN General assembly has 35 Arab countries versus 1x Israel - the likes of Libya, Iran, Jordan etc have an automatic majority and can use the principles of democracy to pass any resolution against Israel even though they are a group of dictators that that reject democracy at home. I'd say the world is upside down??

...full international attention about what the incessant Hamas missile bombardment exacted from Sderot residents and neighboring yeshuvim... ...that is what Israeli hasbara should exploit to the full... ...otherwise it will not be effective to try and deny or justify the unrestrained rage and callousness with which the IDF attacked Gaza...

Ouch!

... at first thought you were addressing one of the other Esthers... ... well yes, there is spontaneous sympathy with the underdog, which Israel happens to be in this instance...

The Goldstone report never even admits that Hamas is a terrorist organization. The Goldstone?s report is full of statements of ?fact? that defy belief and come without any evidentiary source. The report denies, contrary to numerous contemporary reports in media outlets, without citing any of the evidence, that Hamas fighters dressed in civilian dress, hid in hospital facilities and used ambulances to transport combatants and other military purposes. Last but not least : the Goldstone report never even admits that Hamas is a terrorist organization. Few Israelis or fair-minded individuals will find this mission, its report or its recommendations as having providing accountability or restoring the morality of the United Nations. More at : http://xrl.us/bfkwz2

just watched the news last night Moslems non stop murdering moslem all over the bloody place; Israel protects itself from non stop missles raining down on their country and they are being prosecuted ; what a messed up world were leaving our kids, I really worry about the future of this planet daily;

Just a pity you spend so spend so much time and energy strenuously denying Israel. Egypt and the rest of the Arab world CAN accept their own brothers. To free them from their own camps. To save them from their Gaza siege. Only then may they accept their Jewish cousins in our one tiny state. It is true that many (if one can call Israelis "many") who grow up here have a totally warped sense of proportion, thinking that such a laughably small state is the all-powerful center of the universe. The sense of proportion becomes so deeply warped in the case of "far leftists" that their anti-Israel tirades are but reflexive "exercises" in the modern manifestation of cumulative self-hate borne of simple, age-old worldwide Jew-hate. But the intellectual, moral giants of the "left" are of course far too lofty in "logic" to even begin to see such cause and effect, never mind to admit or deal with it. Goldstone himself has already shown an inkling of cognizance his folly. Do you?

The spin and the constant lies are stopped. Unless this culture of the "CON" does not stop we will go from one emergency to the next on a constant basis.What a pity, after all the blood and guts that was spilled in building a once proud state.

You are very naive if you think that BOTH these issues will be dealt at the UN. Please take notice who constitute the majority of the UN today, who is the President of the General Assembly, who are the members of the Human Rights UN Comission, etc. Some people in the developed countries expressed the idea of leaving the UN and establish another, more objective and balanced international institution and I think it's a good idea.

"...(Israel) should have been engaged in presenting all documentation on the extremely deleterious and demoralizing effects of continuous missile attacks on the lives of Sderot citizens and their neighbors... that went on for years..." Indeed.

"Israel's closest ally which has veto power and has said the report is biased and should not be taken up by the UN's most powerful body." That assumes the USA won't hesitate to translate "objections" into "veto". Don't be too sure of that. We are talking about possible CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, and the USA will suffer immense damage if it prostitutes itself to help little mini-me escape that scrutiny. Now, don't get me wrong: the USA does *not* want Israel dragged to the ICC. Sure. No question of that. But the USA *also* knows that this all becomes moot if Israel launches its own commission of inquiry. So the USA will demand to know why Obama has to take the hits when there is *nothing* stopping Bibi from stepping up to that plate...

...just a pity that Israel has spent so much time and energy on strenuously denying what went on in Gaza... ...whereas it should have been engaged in presenting all documentation on the extremely deleterious and demoralizing effects of continuous missile attacks on the lives of Sderot citizens and their neighbors... that went on for years, not just a couple of days... After all, BOTH these issues will be dealt with now in the UN...

The General Assembly is not the Security Council, it can't apply its veto here, the vote goes by the majority of "non-aligned" (AKA aligned on dictatorship) countries only. Think before writing.

I wonder what euphemism is hiding behind this phrase... Why don't they just say Hamas? No one else was involved into terrorist crimes at the time of Operation Cast Lead, and Israel primarily launched its attack on Hamas anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX6vyT8RzMo At last someone in the UN is talking up for Israel. I personally am very hapy to hear from someone outside our Israeli family, give positive reports on our armies actions.

Its a forgone conclusion. The Moslem doormat a.k.a the General Assembly will triumphantly announce Israels guilt.In keeping with Goldstones selective conclusions,no mention will be made either of Hamas choosing to fight, not at the borders,but in Gaza amongst the civillians,without uniforms firing from civillian structures and using RPG's explosive charges etc in those areas. Continuing the UNHRC farce that only chose to condemn Israel.

if Israel is condemn in the UN , many other countries should follow. Russia, China , US ,UK,Iran and their allies etc. is the word ready?

not a word about shallit and the other victims of hamas. i think israelis and jews alike are used by now, it comes with our history,being the scape -coats of the word.

"It would be well for the USA to remain neutral in the debate. " Of course. Right after every other country on the planet remains neutral. Stop being so supportive of the Palestinian side if you want to appear neutral. Set an example for the USA. Take your own advice.

The world's level of terrorist activities is at a very high level. The UN is a traitor, closing its eyes to the abominable acts of terror which is relegated to invisibility even though TV stations blare it out on a daily level. What do they do? They put their focus on the one democratic nation in the Middle East who returned fire, for the purpose of survival and to protect its citizens. This after years of rockets raining down on its heads. We cannot expect more of the UN, the eager loudspeaker of anti-semitic nations, mainly in the developing countries. But we could have expected more of Goldstone, whose lies and inauthenticity has sold his soul and concurrently his nation, down the river.

It seems to be the only thing some folk have....

This is about crimes committed in Gaza. Those committed in Lebanon will come next.

Not even the United States will veto sending this to the ICJ, if in the next 6 months all Israel does is to continue giving the US the proverbial finger. That has been Israel's attitude towards the US lately, and Israel is only hurting itself.

It would be well for the USA to remain neutral in the debate. At this point Israel has rebuked all of the USA efforts to advance the peace process. While the Palestinian Authority has cooperated to the point of initialy tabling the report for the sake of peace, and that was at Obama's request. The report speaks for itself. Videos and photos speak to the adversity imposed on the Gazans by the IDF. It is time for each side to conduct their own open investigations, while attorneys throughout the EU prepare their cases. Israel should have to defend their own position, and let the USA be a true neutral, catalyst for peace.

I wonder if ole Ban-Ki will take up the North Korean report when they overrun So. Korea? Hopefully he'll be there when the reds swarm across the border aided by their Clintonian upgrades in Nuke technology.

but ignores the protest from the recent rocket from Lebanon and their atempts to fire more

...wrongly states the the US finds the report biased. The US has made no such official claim. In carefully worded statements State Department officials have said the *original mandate* was "biased" or "one-sided" - true, but Richard Goldstone fixed that. The United States has held an official position almost from the outset that Israel should essentially comply with Goldstone's recommendation to initiate a full and transparent *independent* investigation of the charges of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity because it "takes very seriously" the allegations made within the report.