WORLD BRIEFING / UNITED NATIONS
The U.N. General Assembly urged Israel and the Palestinians to investigate alleged war crimes during Israel’s offensive last winter in Gaza and raised the possibility of Security Council action if they do not.
A resolution drafted by Arab nations was approved by the 192-member world body 114-18, with 44 abstentions and 16 countries not voting.
Supporters insisted that there must be accountability, especially from Israel, for the alleged violations of international law during the conflict, in which 13 Israelis and almost 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including many civilians.
Israel rejected the resolution as “deeply flawed, one-sided and prejudiced;” the United States called it “unbalanced and biased.” Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. observer, called it “an important night in the history of the General Assembly and the history of fighting against impunity and seeking accountability.”
The resolution endorses a report by an expert panel, chaired by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, that concluded that both Israel and Palestinian militants committed war crimes.
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