The United Nations Human Rights Council has endorsed a report that mainly accuses Israel of committing war crimes during its winter incursion of the Gaza strip.
The report authored by South African jurist Richard Goldstone also accused the Palestinian group Hamas of war crimes, but its primary focus was on Israel.
During the special session of the Council, 25 of the members voted in favour of the resolution, which endorsed “the recommendations contained in the report”. The resolution called upon “all concerned parties including United Nations bodies, to ensure their implementation”. India, China, Russia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, South Africa, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ghana, Indonesia, Djibouti, Liberia, Qatar, Senegal, Brazil, Mauritius, Nicaragua and Nigeria voted in favour of the report. Six countries stood against and 11 abstained during the voting.
The resolution urges the U.N. General Assembly to consider the Goldstone report. It has also sought a response from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Israel’s disposition towards the findings.
The report calls upon the U.N. Security Council to refer the matter to the International Criminal Court, in case the Israelis or Palestinians fail to investigate the alleged abuses on their own.
In a last minute effort late on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu called upon the Council to reject the resolution.
