GENEVA: United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Israel yesterday to cooperate with a UN team looking into whether war crimes were committed during its assault on Gaza at the turn of the year.
Pillay was speaking to the UN’s 47-nation Human Rights Council, which in March decided to send a fact-finding mission under South African jurist Richard Goldstone to investigate what happened in the Hamas-ruled territory during the fighting.
“All parties concerned, as well as states and the international community as a whole, should extend (to the mission) full support and cooperation,” declared Pillay in a clear reference to Israel which has refused to meet the group. Israel invaded Gaza on Dec. 27, 2008 and fighting continued until Jan. 18, 2009, leaving more than 1,000 people dead.
Pillay said the team’s purpose was to investigate “all allegations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations” during the three-week Israeli action, which Israel said was launched to halt rocket attacks from Gaza.
But Islamic and other dcountries, who hold a built-in majority on the Council, insist the mission is to look into what they say were Israeli war crimes. Western countries say the investigation should be impartial and balanced.
