In a New York Times op-ed, Richard Goldstone defends his United Nations report on the Gaza conflict, which charges both Israel and Hamas with war crimes and is being strongly criticized by Israel and Jewish organizations:
Israel is correct that identifying combatants in a heavily populated area is difficult, and that Hamas fighters at times mixed and mingled with civilians. But that reality did not lift Israel’s obligation to take all feasible measures to minimize harm to civilians.
Our fact-finding team found that in many cases Israel could have done much more to spare civilians without sacrificing its stated and legitimate military aims. It should have refrained from attacking clearly civilian buildings, and from actions that might have resulted in a military advantage but at the cost of too many civilian lives. In these cases, Israel must investigate, and Hamas is obliged to do the same. They must examine what happened and appropriately punish any soldier or commander found to have violated the law.
Goldstone notes that Hamas is unlikely to undertake such an investigation — because the group praises the killing of civilians — but also states that "while Israel has begun investigations into alleged violations by its forces in the Gaza conflict, they are unlikely to be serious and objective." Then he argues that the international community must investigate Israel’s conduct in Gaza, or the entire system of international justice will be undermined:
Pursuing justice in this case is essential because no state or armed group should be above the law. Western governments in particular face a challenge because they have pushed for accountability in places like Darfur, but now must do the same with Israel, an ally and a democratic state.
Failing to pursue justice for serious violations during the fighting will have a deeply corrosive effect on international justice, and reveal an unacceptable hypocrisy. As a service to the hundreds of civilians who needlessly died and for the equal application of international justice, the perpetrators of serious violations must be held to account.
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