Geneva/Jerusalem - The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted Friday the war crimes report of Justice Richard Goldstone regarding the conflict in and around the Gaza Strip last December and January, setting the stage for possible further international action. On the 47-member body, 25 states voted in favour of a resolution tabled by the Palestinians and 11 delegates abstained. Six nations, including the United States and some European Union nations, voted against the resolution, while Britain, France and three others did not vote.
The report, written by Goldstone, a South African war crimes prosecutor, and three additional international experts, concluded that both Israel and the Hamas movement likely committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.
The Goldstone report said each party should investigate itself objectively or the case should be handed over to the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
With the adoption of the resolution, the Human Rights Council would hand the matter over "urgently" to the UN General Assembly in New York, which could issue a non-binding recommendation for ICC involvement. The report also recommends the Security Council discuss the findings.
"This resolution goes far beyond even the initial scope of the Goldstone Report into a discussion of elements that should be resolved in the context of permanent status negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis," US envoy to Douglas Griffiths said, when explaining why his country was voting against the document.
The US has a veto at the Security Council.
The report was unfair towards Israel, the US said. Goldstone repeatedly denied this, noting he investigated all sides to the conflict.
Most major human rights groups and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, have generally backed the findings in the report.
Israel, which says it has already launched investigations, rejected the resolution and the report.
"The adoption of this resolution by the UNHRC impairs both the effort to protect human rights in accordance with international law, and the effort to promote peace in Middle East," an Israeli Foreign Ministry statement issued after the vote said.
Calling the UNHRC resolution "unjust," the statement said it "provides encouragement for terrorist organizations worldwide and undermines global peace."
Palestinians have countered that the talks are anyway stalled.
In Ramallah, Nabil Abu Rudeinah, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, welcomed the decision, saying that a follow-upmechanism was needed on implementation of the recommendations in the report, "to protect the Palestinian people from Israeli aggression."
Hamas, which rules Gaza, has criticized the report's findings but welcomed the council's decision.
"The most important thing now is to continue with steps to make sure that the Zionist criminals are brought to trial," said Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri.
Hamas said this week it would open investigations into the report's findings.
The resolution adopts the Goldstone report in full, along with condemnation of Israel for its refusal to cooperate with the fact- finding mission.
A last-minute change to the text by Arab states, included a condemnation of all parties to the conflict who attacked civilians, in an attempt to alleviate concerns that Israel was being attacked unfairly.
Israel used disproportionate force and deliberately harmed Palestinian civilians while Hamas fired rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians, the report found.
The adopted resolution also slammed Israel for the recent tensions in Jerusalem and called for allowing Palestinian citizens access to religious sites.
During the three weeks of fighting in Gaza, 1,400 Palestinians were killed, mostly civilians, the report said, while Israel suffered the deaths of three civilians and 10 soldiers.
