Justice in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Richard Goldstone - (Opinion) September 17, 2009 - 12:00am

I ACCEPTED with hesitation my United Nations mandate to investigate alleged violations of the laws of war and international human rights during Israel’s three-week war in Gaza last winter. The issue is deeply charged and politically loaded. I accepted because the mandate of the mission was to look at all parties: Israel; Hamas, which controls Gaza; and other armed Palestinian groups. I accepted because my fellow commissioners are professionals committed to an objective, fact-based investigation.

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A false equivalency of false equivalencies?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ibishblog
by Hussein Ibish - (Blog) September 17, 2009 - 12:00am

I get a lot of interesting responses to the postings on the Ibishblog, but those regarding my last posting on the UN Goldstone commission of inquiry into the Gaza war were particularly revealing. Both Arab and Jewish partisans tend to become enraged by any suggestion of equivalency between Israel and any group of Palestinians, particularly when it comes to conflict, warfare and armed struggle. Indeed, both the Israeli government and Hamas condemned the Goldstone report for the sin of "false equivalency," among other things.

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Amira Hass / The one thing worse than denying the Gaza report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
by Amira Hass - (Opinion) September 17, 2009 - 12:00am

On Friday an Israel Defense Forces soldier called to protest the publication of another story in Haaretz which in his words, tainted not only the troops' image but also his Sabbath day. The soldier was referring to Gaza resident Zinat Samouni's account of how soldiers killed her 46-year-old husband and their 4-year-old son Ahmed - just two of the 29 people of the same family the army killed between January 4 and 5.

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A committee of inquiry is needed
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) September 17, 2009 - 12:00am

The report by the commission headed by Judge Richard Goldstone on Operation Cast Lead in Gaza is one of the most serious indictments ever made against the government and the military in Israel. The report states that during the operation Israel committed war crimes and significant violations of international law.

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At Gaza's only spa, the well-heeled find relief
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
by Joseph Krauss, Mai Yaghi - September 17, 2009 - 12:00am

High above the pot-holed streets, donkey carts and militant graffiti that have come to define the besieged Gaza Strip sits Rosy, the territory's only spa and a refuge for its unlikely upper crust. The spa's luxurious setting and its upscale clientele stand in stark contrast to the poverty gripping the war-battered Palestinian territory of 1.5 million people, the vast majority of whom rely on foreign aid. "We have the highest quality services in the region," says Mohammed Faris, who launched the spa with his British wife in 1999.

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Goldstone's daughter: My father's participation softened UN Gaza report
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Had Richard Goldstone not served as the head of the UN inquiry into the Gaza war, the accusations against Israel would have been harsher, Goldstone's daughter, Nicole, said in an interview conducted in Hebrew with Army Radio on Wednesday. "My father took on this job because he thought he is doing the best thing for peace, for everyone, and also for Israel," Nicole Goldstone told Army Radio. She added that her father wrestled with the decision to take on the task. "It wasn't easy [for him]," Nicole Goldstone said. "My father did not expect to see and hear what he saw and heard."

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Israel Rejects Call for Gaza Inquiry
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

JERUSALEM — Israeli officials on Wednesday bluntly dismissed one of the main recommendations of the United Nations fact-finding mission’s report on the three-week war in Gaza last winter: a call for the Israeli government to begin an independent investigation of “serious violations” of international humanitarian and human rights law, including evidence of war crimes, during the military campaign.

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Rattling the Cage: A wake-up call from Judge Goldstone
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Larry Derfner - (Opinion) September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

Maybe this will do it. Maybe the Goldstone report on Operation Cast Lead will be the thing that finally puts the fear of God into Israeli society, that shocks this country into deciding once and for all that the occupation must come to an end - for our sake if no one else's.

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Inquiry Finds Gaza War Crimes From Both Sides
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Neil MacFarquhar - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

A United Nations fact-finding mission investigating the three-week war in Gaza last winter issued a highly critical report on Tuesday detailing what it called extensive evidence that both Israel and Palestinian militant groups took actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity.

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Israelis who spoke at Goldstone committee: State must wake up
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews
by Daniel Edelson - September 16, 2009 - 12:00am

The State of Israel officially condemned on Tuesday the Goldstone Report which accuses the IDF of committing war crimes during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, but the Israelis that testified before the special UN-appointed inquiry commission actually welcomed the harsh report, and urged the government not to ignore its conclusions. "Israel should wake up and take it upon itself to investigate the claims," said Attorney Majd Bader, who testified before the committee on behalf of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.

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