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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Wide support for UN Gaza report | Wide support for UN Gaza report |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Dozens of nations at the UN have backed a resolution calling for independent inquiries by Israel and the Palestinians on war crimes in Gaza. | Dozens of nations at the UN have backed a resolution calling for independent inquiries by Israel and the Palestinians on war crimes in Gaza. |
| The UN General Assembly is holding a two-day debate on a report by former war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone. | The UN General Assembly is holding a two-day debate on a report by former war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone. |
| The report condemns the conduct of both sides last December and January, after Israel launched an offensive in Gaza. | The report condemns the conduct of both sides last December and January, after Israel launched an offensive in Gaza. |
| It also urged both sides to set up independent investigations. | It also urged both sides to set up independent investigations. |
| However, the report is harsher towards Israel which has rejected it as politicised and with predetermined conclusions. | However, the report is harsher towards Israel which has rejected it as politicised and with predetermined conclusions. |
| Palestinians and rights groups say more than 1,400 Gazans died in the 22-day conflict, but Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, were killed. | |
| The General Assembly draft resolution has been introduced by Arab states and the Non-Aligned Movement, which represents 118 nations. | The General Assembly draft resolution has been introduced by Arab states and the Non-Aligned Movement, which represents 118 nations. |
| It calls for independent investigations of alleged war crimes to be set up within three months and for possible Security Council action if Israel and the Palestinians fail to do so. | It calls for independent investigations of alleged war crimes to be set up within three months and for possible Security Council action if Israel and the Palestinians fail to do so. |
| The report accuses Israel of using "disproportionate force" in Gaza UN seeks close Gaza scrutiny Key extracts from UN statement Full UN report on Gaza war | The report accuses Israel of using "disproportionate force" in Gaza UN seeks close Gaza scrutiny Key extracts from UN statement Full UN report on Gaza war |
| General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding - unlike Security Council resolutions. | General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding - unlike Security Council resolutions. |
| Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, backed the resolution but also insisted that Israel's "aggressions and crimes" cannot be equated "with actions committed in response by the Palestinian side". | Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer, backed the resolution but also insisted that Israel's "aggressions and crimes" cannot be equated "with actions committed in response by the Palestinian side". |
| Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev warned that the report and the debate "do not promote peace - they damage any effort to revitalise negotiations in our region". | Israel's UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev warned that the report and the debate "do not promote peace - they damage any effort to revitalise negotiations in our region". |
| The US, as a key ally of Israel, was one of a small number of countries expected to vote against the resolution. | The US, as a key ally of Israel, was one of a small number of countries expected to vote against the resolution. |
| For the EU, Sweden's UN Ambassador Anders Liden urged Israel and the Palestinians to "launch appropriate, credible and independent investigations into possible violations". | For the EU, Sweden's UN Ambassador Anders Liden urged Israel and the Palestinians to "launch appropriate, credible and independent investigations into possible violations". |
| He described the report as "serious" and said the EU was "committed to assessing it seriously". | He described the report as "serious" and said the EU was "committed to assessing it seriously". |
| The General Assembly is expected to vote on Thursday. | The General Assembly is expected to vote on Thursday. |
| Inquiries criticised | Inquiries criticised |
| The UN debate also comes as an Israeli human rights organisation criticised investigations being carried out by the Israeli military. | The UN debate also comes as an Israeli human rights organisation criticised investigations being carried out by the Israeli military. |
| B'tselem said 13 of 23 military police investigations under way were based on information it and two other rights organisations had gathered. | B'tselem said 13 of 23 military police investigations under way were based on information it and two other rights organisations had gathered. |
| Three of the cases concerned civilians allegedly killed while holding white flags, and four were cases where Gazans were said to have been used as human shields. | Three of the cases concerned civilians allegedly killed while holding white flags, and four were cases where Gazans were said to have been used as human shields. |
| B'tselem said the investigations were not sufficient because they "only relate to isolated incidents in which a suspicion exists that soldiers breached military orders". | B'tselem said the investigations were not sufficient because they "only relate to isolated incidents in which a suspicion exists that soldiers breached military orders". |
| "To date, not one investigation has been opened regarding Israel's policy during the operation, on matters such as the selection of targets, the open-fire orders given to soldiers, the legality of the weapons used, the balance between injury to civilians and military advantage, and so forth," it said. | "To date, not one investigation has been opened regarding Israel's policy during the operation, on matters such as the selection of targets, the open-fire orders given to soldiers, the legality of the weapons used, the balance between injury to civilians and military advantage, and so forth," it said. |