News

A U.N. panel, overseen by a respected South African jurist, Richard Goldstone,
found evidence in September that both Israel and Palestinian militants may have
committed war crimes during the fighting, in which 13 Israelis and
almost 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including many civilians.

In November, the General Assembly endorsed the Goldstone report, urging
Israel and the Palestinians to investigate alleged war crimes in Gaza or
face the possibility of Security Council action if they didn't,
under an Arab-drafted resolution.

Any action by the Security Council, however, is unlikely
because the U.S. hold veto power as one of the five permanent members of
the 15-nation body.

Israel says it has launched investigations into 150
separate incidents, including 36 criminal probes, and has gathered
evidence from almost 100 Palestinians complainants or witnesses.

The Palestinians only created a commission to carry
out an investigation in late January.

Ban only wrote a brief preface to the 72-page
"report" which is largely composed of Israel's 58-page response, a
Palestinian letter saying ... >>>