RAMALLAH: A senior Palestinian official said on Saturday the Palestinian Authority would not oppose the prosecution of Hamas fighters at the International Criminal Court for war crimes.
Ibrahim Khraisheh, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told the Israel Radio that he had no problem in saying that legal proceedings against Israel over war crimes in Gaza Strip should also be initiated against Hamas fighters. But he added that Israeli “occupiers must not be confused with the occupied.”
The UN Human Rights Council singled out Israel for censure in a resolution on Friday, while endorsing a report by South African jurist Richard Goldstone, which condemned both Israeli and Hamas actions in a war last December and January.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a lengthy diplomatic battle to “delegitimize” the UN charges, an official said on Saturday.
Netanyahu, who has said the Goldstone report could undermine US-sponsored Middle East peace moves, was quoted as saying Israel would wage a protracted struggle against the criticism.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said on Friday that “Israel totally and completely” rejected the UN council’s vote condemning Israel but not the Palestinian Islamist faction.
The resolution endorsed Goldstone’s recommendation that the war crimes issue be referred to the UN Security Council if the sides failed to conduct credible domestic investigations within six months, and possibly then to the International Criminal Court.
Palestinians have said they would name committees to see to implementation of Goldstone’s recommendations.
“President Mahmoud Abbas will see to forming a panel to implement the report so it doesn’t end up lying on a shelf like other resolutions do,” said Yasser Abed-Rabbo, an Abbas aide.
For its part, Hamas said it had started preparing “legal responses” to accusations against it in the Goldstone report.
Ismail Radwan, a spokesman for Hamas, said the report “was not built on true information regarding Hamas.” He said a team of legal experts from Hamas was working to present clarifications to Goldstone’s committee.
— With input from agencies
