Israel's Netanyahu condemns UN's use of flawed information in Gaza conflict
Jim Kouri
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling on the United Nations to rescind a deeply flawed report released in 2009 that accused Israel of war crimes in the Operation Cast Lead conflict in Gaza, according to an attorney who argued the case before the International Criminal Court.
In addition, The American Center for Law and Justice, which presented arguments before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in support of Israel, says now that the author of the Goldstone Report, Judge Richard Goldstone, is recanting his initial findings making it clear that Israel did nothing wrong in defending itself and never intended to target civilians in its conflict with Palestinian terrorists.
Besides the ACLJ, its international affiliate the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is demanding the United Nations withdraw the Goldstone Report regarding Operation Cast Lead. On December 27, 2008, Israeli forces began a bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip after a wave of Hamas rocket attacks aimed at Israeli civilians. The military action was dubbed Operation Cast Lead.
"This stunning reversal clearly underscores the fact that it is time to put this deeply flawed and biased report to rest," said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ and ECLJ.
"From the very beginning we argued that the damaging allegations against Israel were false and without merit. The author of that report now admits that his findings were flawed and concludes that there was no evidence that Israel deliberately targeted civilians while, as he put it, 'it goes without saying' that Hamas did indeed intentionally target civilians. It's time for the United Nations to rescind this report and close its unfounded inquiry against Israel without delay," Sekulow stated.
In an opinion editorial published this past weekend in the Washington Post, Judge Richard Goldstone, who conducted a probe of Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2009, wrote that "if I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document."
Goldstone now admits there was no evidence to suggest that Israel "intentionally targeted" civilians during the conflict. At the same time, Goldstone admits that Hamas, unlike Israel which spent tremendous resources conducting its own investigation, did nothing to investigate its own crimes which, as Goldstone now concludes, "were intentional . . . its rockets were purposefully and indiscriminately aimed at civilian targets."
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the United Nations and is also calling for the Goldstone report to be withdrawn.
"Goldstone himself said that all of the things that we have been saying all along are correct –- that Israel never intentionally fired at civilians and that our inquiries operated according to the highest international standards," said Netanyahu.
Sekulow added: "It's time to set the record straight. There's no stronger evidence than the author of the damaging report who now admits he got it wrong. Writing an opinion editorial is one thing, but what Judge Goldstone needs to do is formally withdraw the report at the [United Nations]."
The ACLJ and ECLJ presented both written and oral arguments defending Israel's actions during the Gaza conflict. In January 2010, the ECLJ filed its written statement and supporting memorandum on its analysis of the Goldstone Report with the U.N. Human Rights Council.
In those filings, the ECLJ highlighted the systematic biases throughout the Goldstone Report and its failure to adhere to U.N. Guidelines and the International Bar Association Guidelines for proper and objective fact-finding.
Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. and the European Centre for Law and Justice is based in Strasbourg, France.
In an opinion editorial published this past weekend in the Washington Post, Judge Richard Goldstone, who conducted a probe of Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2009, wrote that "if I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document."
Goldstone now admits there was no evidence to suggest that Israel "intentionally targeted" civilians during the conflict. At the same time, Goldstone admits that Hamas, unlike Israel which spent tremendous resources conducting its own investigation, did nothing to investigate its own crimes which, as Goldstone now concludes, "were intentional . . . its rockets were purposefully and indiscriminately aimed at civilian targets."
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the United Nations and is also calling for the Goldstone report to be withdrawn.
"Goldstone himself said that all of the things that we have been saying all along are correct –- that Israel never intentionally fired at civilians and that our inquiries operated according to the highest international standards," said Netanyahu.
Sekulow added: "It's time to set the record straight. There's no stronger evidence than the author of the damaging report who now admits he got it wrong. Writing an opinion editorial is one thing, but what Judge Goldstone needs to do is formally withdraw the report at the [United Nations]."
The ACLJ and ECLJ presented both written and oral arguments defending Israel's actions during the Gaza conflict. In January 2010, the ECLJ filed its written statement and supporting memorandum on its analysis of the Goldstone Report with the U.N. Human Rights Council.
In those filings, the ECLJ highlighted the systematic biases throughout the Goldstone Report and its failure to adhere to U.N. Guidelines and the International Bar Association Guidelines for proper and objective fact-finding.
Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and Justice focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. and the European Centre for Law and Justice is based in Strasbourg, France.
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