Controversy surrounded Richard Goldstone's investigation for the UN Human Rights Council into the Gaza war from the very start, with Israel flatly refusing to co-operate because it regarded it as irredeemably biased. But Palestinians and their supporters will see it as an authoritative if long overdue indictment.

Many of the allegations in Goldstone's 575 pages, though highly detailed, have been made before: his key contribution is to emphasise the importance of international law and accountability – Israel should launch "genuine, impartial and independent" investigations into possible war crimes or face possible action by the International Criminal Court, he urges.

Goldstone believes Israel is very unlikely to do that, so he calls on individual countries to use their "universal jurisdiction" to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes. Israeli army and air force commanders may need to be careful booking holidays abroad lest they face charges for involvement in a campaign, in the report's words, "designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population".

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have previously accused Israel of violating prohibitions on collective punishment, targeting civilians, ignoring the principle of proportionality, prohibiting access to medical assistance and using civilians as human shields. Investigations by the Guardian produced evidence of some of these breaches. Breaking the Silence, an organisation of Israeli soldiers, and Israel's B'Tselem human rights organisation have also challenged official accounts and casualty figures.

But with the weight of the UN body behind him, Goldstone's most damaging conclusion is that war crimes and possible crimes against humanity included "numerous instances of deliberate attacks on civilians". He also found Palestinian fighters in Gaza committed war crimes by firing rockets at Israeli civilian targets.

In a key passage, the report quotes Palestinian interviewees as saying they hoped that this would be the last investigative mission of its kind because action for justice would follow from it. "Every time a report is published and no action follows, this emboldens Israel and her conviction of being untouchable. To deny modes of accountability reinforces impunity and impacts negatively on the credibility of the United Nations, and of the international community."