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Swiss NGO Urge Abbas to Review Position on Goldstone Report

February 28, 2014 at 11:16 am

Quds Press:

A Swiss rights association has considered the speech made by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas Sunday, 11 October, to be “at attempt to escape responsibility” for postponing the discussion of the report of the Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council, although it clearly accuses the Occupation of committing “war crimes.”


The “Rights for All” organization said in a written statement, acquired by Al Quds Press, “Mahmoud Abbas’ speech, which is full of contradictions, evaded mentioning the facts surrounding the scandal of postponing the Goldstone report, and attempted to downplay what happened as if it did not deserve the reactions it generated from the public and the factions. And this is an attempt to undermine Palestinian and human rights reactions internally and externally.”

It added, “We hoped that President Abbas would make, in his speech, an apology to the Palestinian people, of all factions, and to human rights organizations, for ignoring the victims of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and attempting to rescue the Occupation from international prosecution. But he surprised everyone with an offensive speech that implies escape from bearing responsibility for the postponement of the Goldstone report.”
While the association asserted that it supports President Abbas’ call to hold a special meeting at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council in Geneva to reopen a debate on Richard Goldstone’s report, it stated that this “does not relieve the Palestinian Authority’s leadership, represented by Mahmoud Abbas, from the responsibility of negligence of the blood of the victims.” It warned that “this transgression forebodes worse violations of Palestinians’ rights in the future.”

The Rights for All association reiterated that postponing the Goldstone Committee’s report “contributes to the denying of the Palestinian people of their right to legal support, and constitutes a relinquishment of victims’ rights, an undermining of the rule of law, and a justification to violate the rights of innocent civilians,” it stated.