UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
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Arab-Israeli attorney backs Goldstone Report in Geneva
Fatma Alajou, who represents Israeli human rights group, tells Human Rights Council, 'Israel has not been investigating its own conduct since second intifada.' Speaking to Ynet, she says, 'Israeli legal system cannot be trusted'
Arab-Israeli attorney Fatma Alajou, who addressed the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday, said she expected broader support, including from the US and European Union states, for the council's decision to refer the Goldstone Report to the Security Council, possibly setting up international prosecution of Israelis and Palestinians accused of war crimes.
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Speaking to Ynet shortly after the vote in Geneva, Alajou, who represents Adalah – the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, called the Goldstone Report "objective," and said, "It's a shame that a large segment of the (Israeli) population is not familiar with the details of the report and bases its opinion on the populism surrounding it."
"The report merely states that there is evidence indicating that war crimes had been committed by both sides (during the December-January) war in Gaza. The region's population has suffered an injustice, and the report says it is time to act," she said.
Prior to the vote Alajou told the UN council in Geneva that attempts by Israeli human rights groups to approach Attorney General Menachem Mazuz regarding the need to investigate the "alleged war crimes" in Gaza proved futile.
"The High Court of Justice rejected all of our petitions on this matter, and in this situation seeking international support becomes very relevant," she told the council, "As an attorney that deals with human rights and believes that international law is meant to protect all people, regardless of race or nationality, it is my opinion that failing to implement the Goldstone Report's recommendations would put the international community's commitment to peace and human rights in question."
According to Alajou, "A situation whereby the Israeli legal system cannot be trusted and the IDF's investigations are riddled with conflicts of interest calls for the launching of an (international) investigation, also as a means of deterrence."
The Arab-Israeli attorney also told the council that "Israel has not been investigating its own conduct since the second intifada (which began in 2000). The best example of this is the assassination of Salah Shehadeh (in Gaza) – there was no Israeli probe."
Alajou told Ynet she hopes the Security Council will also adopt the Goldstone Report and set up a committee of experts to closely follow developments in the Middle East.
