RAMALLAH, April 3, 2011 (WAFA)-Palestinian Liberation Organization(PLO)’s Executive Committee member and Head of Culture and Information Department of the PLO, Hanan Ashrawi, Sunday condemned Judge Richard Goldstone’s stance of backtracking from accusing Israel ; that it deliberately targeted Palestinian civilians in Gaza in 2008-2009.
Ashrawi said “Richard Goldstone’s attempt to rewrite the facts about Israel’s devastating military assault on Gaza is not only deeply disappointing, it falls far short of the standards of impartiality and an unwavering commitment to international law expected of someone in his position and of his stature. While he has come under relentless attack within Israel ever since the publication of the Goldstone report, Judge Goldstone is the last person we expected to succumb to that pressure.”
She assured that “Goldstone’s comments not only do a grave injustice to the many Palestinians whose lives were lost and whose livelihoods were shattered during Israel’s devastating assault on Gaza. They also have the potential to open the door for further aggression against Gaza’s population at a time when some in Israel are openly advocating another assault on Gaza.”
She noted that Goldstone report documented the deliberate targeting of Gaza’s civilian population by Israel, and the unprecedented scale of human devastation and loss that followed, adding that Goldstone is responding to Israeli pressure simply does not add up against the pile of evidences presented in the report he chaired.
She stressed “Palestinians will continue to have recourse to all international legal venues in the pursuit of our basic rights and freedoms denied us by Israel.”
During Israel’s 22-day military assault on Gaza (launched 27 December 2008), more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed, and over 5,000 Palestinians were injured. A high proportion of both were women and children. 13 Israelis were killed, including 3 civilians and 10 soldiers. Israel has accordingly been accused of the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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