Head of UN Commission on Gaza War Violations Reports on Status

The head of a U.N. commission that investigated claims of human rights violations in the 2008-09 Gaza conflict rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhyahu's charge that any attempts to follow up on the group's recommendations could kill any renewed peace talks with the Palestinians.

At an Oct. 1 Newsmaker, former South African Constitutional Court Justice Richard Goldstone also said he regretted the reaction to the report by the U.S., which said it would vote against a move by the U.N. Security Council to report the commission's findings to the International Criminal Court for investigation and possibe prosecution.

The report said it found violations of human rights and humanitarian law by both Israel and Palestine.

Goldstone added that if the Security Council ignores the report, Israel will continue to operate as before in the area with legal impunity, and that the UN General Assembly would be powerless to prevent it.