New York - The UN General Assembly began a debate Wednesday on a controversial investigative report on fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip earlier this year. The report drawn up by a four-member commission headed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone accused both sides of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Arab and Non-Aligned Movement countries urged adoption of the text after introducing a draft resolution calling on the 192-nation assembly to endorse the so-called Goldstone report, which blamed both Israel and Hamas for the deaths of 1,400 Palestinians and 10 Israelis during the December-January conflict.
Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour told the assembly that the situation in Gaza for its 1.5 million inhabitants remains "untenable and unacceptable" because of the continuing Israeli blockade.
The debate was to hear more than 45 speakers and end with the Arab and non-aligned countries pushing for the adoption of the draft. Israel and the United States have strongly rejected the Goldstone report, branding it biased against Israel and deeply flawed.
