Asia-Pacific
PNA submits initial report on Gaza war to UN
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-31 11:41
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RAMALLAH: The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) handed over its initial report to the United Nations on Saturday in response to a UN fact-finding report on an Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip last winter.
In November, the UN General Assembly endorsed the UN fact- finding report that accused both Israel and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, of committing war crimes and asked the two sides to conduct independent probes of the charges before February 5.
The report penned by a UN panel led by South African judge Richard Goldstone said that both Israel and Hamas might have committed war crimes against civilians during the 22-day Israeli operation "Cast Lead" that ended in January.
The PNA government, headed by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said in the statement that it formed a committee several days ago, which included five Palestinian judges and legal experts.
But the statement did not reveal the content of the Palestinian preliminary report.
On Thursday, Hamas officials in Gaza announced that they had also prepared their own response to the Goldstone report, which accused the Islamic movement of committing war crimes against Israeli civilians during the war.
Minister of Justice in the deposed Hamas government in Gaza, Faraj al-Ghoul, said that the government had prepared a 52-page report that includes Hamas response to the UN fact-finding report.
The report denied that Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, had committed war crimes against civilians during the war, saying that the three Israeli civilians "were killed by a mistake. "
Over 1,300 Gazans, including hundreds of civilians, were killed during the Israeli war, which also left 13 Israelis dead.
