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Riz Khan
The Goldstone report dispute
Riz Khan looks at the fate of the report that will be discussed in the UN General Assembly.
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2009 06:57 GMT

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On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly debates the Goldstone report, which concluded that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, during the war on Gaza last winter.

South African Judge Richard Goldstone led a fact-finding mission into the fighting which killed 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.

His report found that Israel had deliberately targeted civilians, industrial sites and water installations, and used "disproportionate force" to destroy civilian property and infrastructure.

Hamas was criticised for using civilians as human shields and firing rockets into Israel to spread fear among Israeli civilians.

The Israeli government has argued that the report denies it the right to self-defence, and rejects the idea that its officers could be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court.

Israel, the US, France and the UK have teamed up to block the report from being sent to the UN Security Council for a formal debate.

On Tuesday, the US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution urging Barack Obama, the US president, to oppose "any endorsement or further consideration" of the report.

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So what is the fate of the Goldstone report?

On Wednesday, we speak with Mustapha Barghouti, an independent member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and lieutenant colonel (retired) Amos Guiora, who served in the Israeli army for 19 years.

Guiora has held a number of senior command positions, including legal adviser for the army in the Gaza Strip, and commander of the Israeli School of Military Law. He is currently a professor of law at the University of Utah.

This episode of the Riz Khan show aired from Wednesday, November 4, 2009.

Source:
Al Jazeera
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