Goldstone stands by "his" report

Justice Richard Goldstone, Head of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict.

Israel Hits Roadblock over Dismissal of War Crimes Charges
By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 8, 2011 (IPS) - The Israeli government and South African jurist Richard Goldstone may be heading for a political confrontation over war crimes charges against Tel Aviv and a subsequent selective retraction of some of those charges.

Israeli President Shimon Peres told reporters Friday that Goldstone, who has expressed his "regrets", is apparently refusing to "correct the mistakes" and is unwilling to repudiate the conclusions of the report.

The 575-page report, released in September 2009, was a blistering attack on both Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for war crimes committed during the 22- day conflict in 2008-2009. ....
...........Peter Weiss, vice president of the Centre for Constitutional Rights, told IPS the official Israeli reaction "deliberately distorts his op-ed".

Goldstone only retracted one charge - that Operation Cast Lead deliberately targeted civilians.

"But the report is replete with various instances of war crimes, for which intent is not required," said Weiss, who also serves as the president of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy and is a member of the executive committee of Americans For Peace Now.
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