In response to Goldstone’s report Israel submits details

In response to Goldstone’s report Israel submits details

Barak has promised that individual Israeli soldiers will not be indicted for war crimes  

Israel has submitted to the United Nations details of the investigations it conducted into war crimes allegations raised in a reports into the 22-day Gaza war, which ended last January.   

Ehud Barak, the Israeli defense minister, confirmed that his report backed the army’s actions during Operation Cast Lead. 

The 575-page report, compiled by Richard Goldstone, a South African judge, concluded that there was “strong evidence” Israel had committed war crimes during its bombing and shelling of Gaza. 

In turn Hamas said it had prepared a 52-page response to the Goldstone report, which had accused the Palestinian fighters of targeting Israeli civilians by firing hundreds of rockets across the de-facto border. 

Salah al-Bardaweel, a senior Hamas official, hinted at the content of the report on Thursday. 

In a November 5 resolution the UN General Assembly endorsed the Goldstone report and gave Israel and the Palestinians three months to undertake “independent, credible investigations” into the allegations against them. 

 That deadline expires on Friday, February 5

With next week’s deadline nearing, Israel is still in the midst of a heated debate as to whether it should heed the General Assembly resolution calling for an independent inquiry.

Barak and army chief of staff have so far opposed a commission that would expose private soldiers to legal prosecution, because they fear that would compromise combat in the future.

One government official claimed that Israel had “no choice” but to form such a commission if it wanted to escape prosecution at the International Criminal Court in The Hague