Palestinian Mission at the UN "intends to delay discussion of the Goldstone Report"

The Palestinian Human Rights Council (PHRC) has warned that the Permanent Palestinian Mission to the United Nations intends to push for a postponement of discussion in the General Assembly of last year’s Goldstone Report. The UN appointed Judge Richard Goldstone to investigate the conduct of Israel and the Gaza government during Israel’s war against Gaza in 2008/9.

The PHRC said in a press statement that it understands that the Palestinian Mission intends to propose a draft resolution to give Israel and the Palestinian Authority more time to investigate the findings of the Report. The council regards such a step as a delaying tactic which will have a negative impact on the chances of achieving justice for the victims of Israel’s “war crimes and possible crimes against humanity”. It also criticised the planned filibuster for having no legal or objective justification.

---

Furthermore, the PHRC also called on the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s executive committee to make genuine efforts to confront the failure of any Palestinian entity to put this issue on the UN General Assembly’s agenda. Any delay, said the council, reduces the Goldstone Report’s value, wasting an opportunity for Palestinians the likes of which may not surface again for many years.