Richard Goldstone, right, will lead the fact-finding investigation into the Gaza war
The United Nations has appointed a former war crimes prosecutor to investigate offences allegedly committed by Israeli and Palestinian fighters during Israel's war on Gaza.
Richard Goldstone, a Jewish judge from South Africa, will lead a fact-finding team on the mission, ordered by the Human Rights Council in January.
"I am confident the mission will be in a position to assess, in an independent and impartial manner, all human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the context of the Gaza conflict," Goldstone said in a statement issued on Friday.
Other members of the group are Christine Chinkin, a British professor of international law, Hina Jilani, a Pakistani lawyer and retired Irish army colonel Desmond Travers.
The investigation's mandate is to focus only on Palestinian victims of the 22-day war.
The Israeli military claims Hamas fighters used civilians as human shields, booby-trapped homes and shot at troops from densely populated areas.
Israeli officials on Friday did not say whether or not they would co-operate with the UN investigation. It has rejected previous human rights council investigations, including one led by Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, calling them "biased".
Courtesy: Al jazeera
The United Nations has appointed a former war crimes prosecutor to investigate offences allegedly committed by Israeli and Palestinian fighters during Israel's war on Gaza.Richard Goldstone, a Jewish judge from South Africa, will lead a fact-finding team on the mission, ordered by the Human Rights Council in January.
"I am confident the mission will be in a position to assess, in an independent and impartial manner, all human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the context of the Gaza conflict," Goldstone said in a statement issued on Friday.
Other members of the group are Christine Chinkin, a British professor of international law, Hina Jilani, a Pakistani lawyer and retired Irish army colonel Desmond Travers.
The investigation's mandate is to focus only on Palestinian victims of the 22-day war.The Israeli military claims Hamas fighters used civilians as human shields, booby-trapped homes and shot at troops from densely populated areas.
Israeli officials on Friday did not say whether or not they would co-operate with the UN investigation. It has rejected previous human rights council investigations, including one led by Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, calling them "biased".
Courtesy: Al jazeera
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