Israel must comply with UN, probe Goldstone report

Israel's image abroad keeps drowning since operation cast lead. Refusing to comply with the Goldstone report, which is seen almost everywhere in the world as credible, only serves to harm Israel's image.

i did not know that there were women, children, the elderly, among those trageted. as usual, your flippant arrogance only distracts from any argument that you might even remotely have.

actually, goldstone did acknowledge that many members of the police were also members of al-qassam brigades.

terror group. I don't think Israel should comply with this farce. Hamas shot rockets at Israeli children for 8 years and has been killing Palestinian arabs who disagree with them for years. The UN is irrelevant and should be moved to countries where human rights are violated

and if Israelisare against the UN would enfoce it. The proper response would be investigating money flow into Eldar ,Barel etc. etc accounts.Also those undeclared and placed abroad.

There is no such thing as morally wrong or illegal 'collective punishment' against terrorism as long as humanitarian factors regarding non combatants are observed . And that is what Israel did before, after and during Cast lead counter terrorism operation . But apparently , whether Israel actions are moral , justified or legal , it doesn't matter as long as anti zionism propaganda becomes a matter of belief . Such Goldstone report is nothing less than another anti Israel UNGA resolution(s) wich are non biding and neither costumary Int'l Law .

Haaretz Editorial base his speculation on A.Eldar claim that Abbas deferred the UNHRC vote on the Goldstone report due to Shin Bet 'threat' . http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1143038.html Diskin to Abbas: Defer UN vote on Goldstone or face 'second Gaza' By Akiva Eldar Such Haaretz Editorial and A.Eldar manipulation feed anti-zionism propaganda wich Goldstone commission based on most of its report . Goldstone report Paragraph 437 to 440. In forming an opinion on the subject, the Mission mostly reviewed the allegations made in Reports by the Government of Israel, by private individuals and organizations, and by NGOs. It is hardly surprising, when the Mission could not gather evidence itself and was relying on reports from people and organizations with an anti-Zionist agenda, that it could find no evidence on many matters relevant to its inquiry. Reliance of the Mission on inaccurate politicized secondary sources is troubling enough. When that is combined with a failure to address submissions which go contrary to anti-zionist propaganda, the reliability of the Report is undermined. But it clearly transpire according to another Haaretz report that the Goldstone report postponment was meant to manipulate Hamas to agree to Egypt's reconcilitaion plan between the two rivals: Fatah-Hamas. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1121835.html Abbas popularity dips over response to Goldstone Gaza report By Reuters Abbas, whose Fatah party lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in fighting in 2007, has said his administration erred in approving a UN decision in Geneva two weeks ago to delay action on the report on the December-January Gaza war. He was widely believed to have bowed to U.S. pressure over the matter, taking a stance that surprised and angered many Palestinians and, according to the JMCC, led to his popularity decline in the new poll. Abbas has said he would proceed with plans to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in January unless Hamas agreed to a deal proposed by Egypt to delay the ballot until June. Egypt has been trying to mediate a reconciliation pact between Fatah, which has accepted the unity proposal, and Hamas, which is still weighing the plan. Consequently future marshalled commission must disregard such Haaretz Editorial report . And must not take Diskin statement as standard use of disproportionate force, and claim without analysis or foundation, that it is illegal.

What happened in Gaza was being prepared long before the various excuses the politicians used to "justify" it came into being. ALERT: Annapolis a Charade: Israel Plotting Massive Aggression 12/11/2007 http://scotland.indymedia.org/node/3773 If you haven't, read the report and start thinking for yourself. "The Mission concludes that the conditions resulting from deliberate actions of the Israeli armed forces and the declared policies of the Government with regard to the Gaza Strip before, during and after the military operation cumulatively indicate the intention to inflict collective punishment on the people of the Gaza Strip." Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/12session/A-HRC-12-48.pdf Leading Israeli Scholar Avi Shlaim: Israel Committing ?State Terror? in Gaza Attack, Preventing Peace http://www.democracynow.org/2009/1/14/leading_israeli_scholar_avi_shlaim_israel

To hell with the anti-semitic UN. Let them pass their resolutions - who cares about war crimes referrals! It won't be the first time that the UN has been ignored.

misleading assertion that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intent is to bring down the Gaza strip rulers . Quote "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has only a few days left to halt Israel's slide down the slippery slope of its fight to bring down the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip." It takes a political decision to do so . It is absurd and a lie to say that Israel counter terror prevention taken against Hamastan are aimed to bring down the Gaza Strip rulers . Not allowing certain items into the Gaza strip and destroying tunels are not only far from even approaching the customary Int'l legal definition of blockade but such legal measures are not of any evidence to describe any intent or deliberate policy to bring down the gaza strip rulers nor to be described as collective punishment.

The same logic applies. There was a past, present or future IDF member in the building. Her logic would also state that.

view (wich is misleading) that Hamas is a gov't. Hamas is a terrorist organisation , Hamas charter is genocidal , and Hamas institutions serve as recruit centers and incite for suicidal bombing missions . Haaretz yesterday quoted Hamas leader Mashal as saying that the organisation top priority remain terror (translated with deliberate misleading intent by dhimmedias as legitime resistance)

When will Haaretz if ever wake up to REALITY. ISRAEL IS BEING DELEGITIMIZED EVEN FOR AIDING HAITI. WITH OUTRIGHT FALSEHOODS COMING FROM GOLDSTO AND iSRAEL'S OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE OF BEING SO CAREFUL EVEN DURING WAR WHO WILL LISTEN?

The Israeli suggestion that Goldstone should have disqualified himself is nonsense. Just as a judge in a case with a corpse with 5 bullets in the back, might well start with the preconception that a murder has likely taken place. Goldstone's distinguished legal background, his being Jewish, and most importantly his studying and reporting of detailed evidence and facts totally discount this objection. The only possible gap in the report is the lack of Israeli input at the time, but Goldstone cannot be blamed for Israel's non cooperation.

forces and dance with joy as the UN GA ONLY demands investigation by Israel.not Hamas You sure you people have evidence that would stand up in a criminal court.?Goldstone did not think so .

...it is plain eviudent what Israel did: Defending from continuous missile attacks while trying to minimize both the risk to its troops as well as that to the Israeli civilian and Palestinian civilian population while coping with the human shield approach of Hamas. Everyone who is seriourly proposing to investigate whether daylight is caused sunshine or moonlight is bound to make a fool out of himself

The UN and the world owes Israel the right to be left alone.

as well as Prof Chinkin. Their pre investigation public statements would have disqualified them in any country where natural justice is a priorit.They way the UN GA commissioned and handled the report not demanding a Hamas investigation makes the whole issue high farce. Mary Robinson of Durban 1 fame refused to undertake the investigation Surely all that must mean something to anybody who is not just interested in drawing blood.

"the people at that graduation that were blown up were members of the al-qassam brigades and others from terror organisations." Goldstone found no evidence of your claim. Of course, if you have some, you'll be able to testify at the ICC inquiry and trials.

that would stand up in a court of law. But if you are desperate enough you will keep flogging a dead horse because you have nothing else. Note the UN GA ignored what he said about Hamas.What else would youlike to say in defence of the UNHRC investigation?That it was carried out by people who were not openly prejudiced before they undertook the investigation?? Or evidence given by people under the thumb of Hamas was the whole unvarnished truth just like a Stalin public trial??

The UN is an organization, to which you can lie as you like. The last US foreign minister M. Powell lied to the UN about the Iraq's WMD to justify a war. The Israelis can lie that the UN report of Goldstone is a fake. Nevertheless Israel's existence is based on a UN decision. This decision is well accepted but all other decisions of the UN are well ignored by Israel if they concern the rights of the Palestinians.

This should have been the signed editorial by your former editor http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/12/former-haaretz-editor-on-al-dura.html

the people at that graduation that were blown up were members of the al-qassam brigades and others from terror organisations. that is why they were blown up. the u.s would do the same, and has done much worse.

Ciporah "do the editors really believe that israel`s political and military leadership deliberately and wantonly murdered gaza`s civilian population?" The Goldstone report outlines many specific instances which suggest Israel was looking to punish the civilian population for electing Hamas

When the political leadership deliberately plans an attack on a civilian target and then goes and get legal advice as to how to frame the attack and justify it as something different, yea. It probably is viewed in many circles as planned that way. And that makes the politicians overseeing the operation just as deliberately guilty and wanton. The political leadership is supposed to know better. A good rule of thumb is always, "if it was done to me, would it be a fair act?" Blowing up a stadium full of people attending a graduation is not an accidental act. Planning it for a year in advance is not a hasty act.

there will be no futher sanctions by the un against iran. neither russia nor china will agree to further sanctions. nor have sanctions already passed been honoured. resolutions against israel by the unga are common and will continue. the unga is controlled by the muslim states and their allies.

Just a guess or you have undisclosed information ?

Israel. The UN is an impotent and totally useless organization. What is the UN that Israel should comply with anything that comes out of that corrupt body of thieves and perverts ?

do the editors really believe that israel's political and military leadership deliberately and wantonly murdered gaza's civilian population? do you believe that the former prime minister, defence minister and the cabinet are war criminals who committed crimes against humanity? that what judge richard goldstone said in his report.

...the Israel-bashers. It never its.

... should let the world know his thoughts on what to do with entities that cannot or will not solve problems in ways that are considered "civilized" or if you will, "western". Should we continue to make exceptions and excuses for creeps like Meshaal simply because he is weaker or more demented than the entity he is, in his dreams, trying to conquer? Should we abandon the progress we have made over thousand of years, just to accommodate the notions of cretins simply because they are cretins? Are we helping or hurting human progress by such accommodations? Goldstone has climbed eagerly on the high stage and orchestrated a lot of angst. He seems to be getting a pass on some relevant questions.

In cases in which Israel is destined to make a concession, why not do it with grace and a smile rather than the usual belligerence and foot dragging?

That's SOP for Israel, anyway.Israeli society is not being honest and truthful about the crimes the IDF committed on its behalf. It prefers to bury its head in the sand and hope that the rest of the world will go away. Not this time, not anymore. The game is over. And Israelis would be wiser to own up to what took place and deal with it. It is not a pretty picture of Israeli society and it now stands branded as an Apartheid and a society accused of war crimes and that label is now forever part of Israel's ethos. And for those responsible, the leaders, good luck on going to Europe or just about anywhere in the future.