TEL AVIV, January 24, 2010 (WAFA)- Next week the deadline expires for both Israel and Hamas to investigate the Goldstone report's accusations regarding violations of the laws of war and perhaps even the commission of war crimes during Operation Cast Lead, daily Haaretz said.

 It said,  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has only a few days left to halt Israel's slide down the slippery slope of its fight to bring down the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.

Instead of wasting the little remaining time with further attacks on the credibility of Judge Richard Goldstone, the prime minister would be well advised to heed the advice of several public figures, among them former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak and Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, a former justice minister, and immediately appoint a state commission of inquiry.

Haaretz said the U.S. administration also is urging the Israeli government to treat the UN General Assembly resolution with appropriate gravity, and warning that in the absence of an internal inquiry the United States will find it difficult to stop the snowball of the Goldstone report.

Even if the prime minister is convinced that the UN has it in for Israel, he must respect the organization's resolutions. How can he demand the international community's enforcement of the UN resolutions on Iran while Israel itself is violating that body's resolutions? But an Israeli investigation is needed not only out of fear of the International Criminal Court and of the arrest of Israelis abroad; the Israeli public has the right to know whether the country's leaders and military obeyed the laws of war and moral principles during the operation in Gaza. That is the way to avoid the next Goldstone report

Israeli response has been kept under wraps, it is expected to list the essential flaws in the report and explain why the report is biased against Israel and tainted with many problems.

By February 5, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was to file a compilation of all the responses to the report, authored by renowned South African jurist Richard Goldstone.

In its rebuttal, Israel was to explain the reasons behind the offensive in the Gaza Strip and what it terms the hardships of fighting against a terror organization that operates inside civilian homes, schools, hospitals and UN facilities.