Ban wants 'internal probe' into Goldstone Report

Lynn Pascoe, the UN chief's deputy for political affairs, said at the start of a Security Council meeting discussing the report that Ban was calling on all parties to conduct internal credible investigations on the way the winter war in Gaza was conducted.

The Security Council discussed the report as part of a regular monthly debate on the Middle East. This month's discussion was moved up by one week following a request submitted by Libya, which requested a debate on the controversial report.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Prof. Gabrieal Shalev clarified Israel's stance on the Goldstone Report, after harshly criticizing Libya over its demand to discuss the matter.

"We are here today after being asked to move up the Council's meeting for what was defined as 'an urgent matter on the agenda," she said. "The ordinary man would think that an urgent Security Council meeting is being convened due to the ongoing bombardments of Israel by terrorists from Gaza and Lebanon, or due to the Iranian threat derived from the nuclear program it is developing. But no.

"The urgency here is only an excuse 'to snatch' the Council's agenda in order to promote an issue which should be discussed somewhere else. The country responsible for violating the procedure, as we all know, is none other than Libya. This country is a real champion in human rights issues, which only recently celebrated the return of an arch terrorist, a terrorist responsible for the cold blooded murder of hundreds of innocent people over Lockerbie. This is the same country whose leaders called this council only several weeks ago 'the terror council.'"

Security Council meeting (Photo: Shahar Azran) 

As for the Goldstone Report's accusations, Ambassador Shalev stated that "Israel views the report as a one-sided, biased and erroneous paper, just like the forum and the mandate which appointed it.

"This is a report which legitimizes and encourages terror, denying Israel's right to defend its citizens. A Report which has fallen straight into the strategic trap guided by terror organizations across the world. A report preventing democratic countries from defending themselves and allowing terror to claim victims, target innocent people and use those it defends as a human shield."

The Goldstone Report, she clarified, is an attempt "to divert the Security Council's attention from the real issues on the agenda in our region, and instead of encouraging the sides to the road of peace and renewing the negotiations, the discussion is diverted to a narrative which is destructive to the peace process. If Israel is required to take additional chances for peace, the international community must recognize our right to self-defense."

AFP contributed to this report