Wanted to visit Sderot. Goldstone
Photo: Reuters
'We want to live in peace.' Buskila
Former South African Judge Richard Goldstone rejected Sderot Mayor David Buskila's claim that the UN inquiry into the Gaza war ignored the rocket fire on Israel.
In a written reply to Buskila's accusations, Goldstone said that the report mentioned the rocket and mortar fire towards south Israel and even stated that it constituted war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.
Ties that Bind?
Judge who headed UN investigation committee into Israeli operation in Gaza tells CNN he is saddened by fact that Jews feel he should not be investigating Israel because he is Jewish. I probed war crimes in other countries, he says, so why should Israel be different?
Goldstone said in the letter to Buskila that he would gladly accept his invitation to visit Sderot.
In response, Buskila sent Goldstone yet another letter, in which he said that accusing "the fundamentalist terror organization" Hamas of committing war crimes was futile, as "terror groups and their method of operation are based on the harsh violation of human rights and the harming of innocents."
The Sderot mayor added that "comparing Hamas, which initiated rocket fire on civilians, to the IDF – which attempted to halt the attacks – is both immoral and unjust.
"I wish you a happy New Year and invite you to visit Sderot. I am certain that after touring the city you'll get a better understanding of our plight, and also see that we are not war mongers but people who just want to live in peace with our neighbors," Buskila wrote to Goldstone.
The investigation led by Goldstone concluded in a 575-page report that both Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during their Dec. 27-Jan. 18 conflict in Gaza.