Israel sets up team to collate findings from Gaza fighting probes

Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to form a team of legal experts and Foreign Ministry officials to collate all material gathered by the military in its investigations of the Israel offensive in the Gaza Strip at the turn of the year. Israel Radio reported Monday that Israel will present these findings as a probe which it is conducting into the offensive, instead of an investigative committee, as demanded by a United Nations Human Rights Council Commission which looked into the fighting.

The Goldstone Commission report found that both Israel and the Islamic Hamas movement, which administers the Gaza Strip, may have committed war crimes during the December 27 - January 18 fighting.

It said both sides must set up credible investigations into the charges within six months.

According to the Jerusalem Post daily, the Israeli team will make use of existing material, and present its findings as an internal investigation refuting the accusations contained in the Goldstone report.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday night that no Israeli military officer or soldier would be investigated, a point Netanyahu has also made.

Israel refused to cooperate with the Goldstone commission, charging that its original mandate was biased, since it called for an investigation only into Israel's actions, and not those of Hamas as well.

Human rights groups say up to 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the fighting.