Ramallah - Palestinians welcomed Friday the United Nations Human Rights Council ratification of the war crimes report written by Judge Richard Goldstone on Israel's turn of the year offensive in the Gaza Strip, with one official saying it "showed international support for Palestinian rights."Nabil Abu Rudeinah, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, added that what was needed was a follow-up on implementation of the recommandations in the report, "to protect the Palestinian people from Israeli aggression."
Sami Abu Zuhri a spokesman for the Islamic Hamas movement administering the Gaza Strip, also welcomed the vote.
"The most important thing now is to continue with steps to make sure that the Zionist criminals are brought to trial," he said.
Some 25 states out of the 47-member Human Rights Council voted in Geneva to accept the report while 11 delegates abstained. Six nations, including the United States and some European Union nations voted against the resolution.
The report, written by Goldstone, a South African war crimes prosecutor, and three other international experts, concluded that both Israel and the Hamas movement likely committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity during their three weeks of fighting.
