Just as Norman Finkelstein predicted he would, UN Sec’y-Gen’l Ban Ki-moon has folded on Goldstone: "The U.N. chief says Israel is thoroughly investigating allegations it deliberately targeted civilians during last year’s Gaza offensive."
Here is word from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), questioning the Israeli investigation:
PCHR notes that the investigations carried out by Israeli authorities do not, in any way, fulfill the demands of customary international law, the Goldstone Report, or UN General Assembly Resolution A/Res/64/10. Like numerous other national and international human rights organizations, PCHR believes that the Israeli system – as it relates to Palestinian victims of Israeli violations – does not meet the necessary international standards with respect to the effective administration of justice. The hierarchical nature of the military, the ineffective manner in which investigations are conducted, the lack of civilian oversight – as epitomized by the wide margin of discretion awarded by the Israeli Supreme Court – and the ineffectiveness of such oversight when it does occur, all combine to fundamentally frustrate the pursuit of justice.
PCHR emphasize that military investigations (often referred to as operational probes, or command investigations), which form the vast majority of investigations opened to-date, are inappropriate and legally inadequate; they cannot conduct the required investigations of senior military and civilian personnel. As representatives of the victims, PCHR has first-hand experience of the Israeli investigations conducted and has represented a significant number of the witnesses who were asked to testify: PCHR considers the Israeli investigation mechanism entirely inadequate with respect to the demands of international law. PCHR emphasize that only 150 investigations have been opened, of which only 36 were criminal investigations; 7 of these criminal investigations have already been closed for ‘lack of evidence’. PCHR alone submitted 450 criminal cases. Only two officers and one soldier have been found to have made mistakes and, in general, the finding of all investigations thus far conducted is that Israel acted ‘in accordance with the law’. It is evident that accountability cannot be pursued through the Israeli legal system. This conclusion is in line with PCHR’s long-standing experience as well as that of Israeli and international human rights organizations.
PCHR further expresses its surprise at UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon’s response to these investigations. Ban reportedly stated that “no determination can be made on the implementation of the resolution by the parties concerned”; despite the fact that Resolution A/Res/61/10 explicitly called for the Secretary-General to “report on the implementation of the present resolution”. Mr. Ban did not express any concern regarding the evident problems arising from the lack of an independent, credible, impartial civilian investigation committee and over the lack of progress to-date. As representatives of the victims of the atrocities committed during the Israeli attacks on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009, PCHR is shocked and appalled by this lack of responsibility. The Secretary General has the duty to ensure, through UN mechanisms, accountability for perpetrators of war crimes and redress for their victims. If he has any doubt regarding the credibility of the methods or results of the investigations – which he should, due to the fact that Israel did not establish an independent, civilian investigation committee with powers of criminal prosecution – these should be communicated in his report to the General Assembly, which should then refer the issue to the Security Council. .
