Syria warns UN credibility at stake

Syria said here Wednesday that with Israel's continued refusal to comply with United Nations resolutions, as well as recommendations from the report by UN fact-finding missions on Gaza conflict, puts the "credibility of the UN at stake."

Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari, on the behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), made these remarks in a plenary General Assembly session here to consider a Goldstone report, which accused both Israel and Hamas militants of war crimes during the 22-day Gaza conflict which broke out on Dec. 27,2008.

"The UN disability to bring Israel under the umbrella of the international law has, unfortunately harmed the image of the UN in our Islamic world," Ja'afari said. "The humanitarian and human rights situation is turning worse for the Palestinian people living under illegitimate occupation."

Strongly condemning Israeli violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, Ja'afari expressed the OIC's concerns about the "grave situation in the Occupied Palestinian territory" in the midst of the "continuing inhumane Israeli blockade," which has caused a humanitarian crisis along the Gaza Strip.

Ja'afari called on the UN Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities and "take all necessary actions to bring the Israeli perpetrators of these war crimes to justice and put an end to the Israeli mindset in humanity."

"The Goldstone Report has authenticated and confirmed these violations with evidence," he said. "Most importantly, the report confirmed international community's worst fears of committing war crime and crimes against humanity."

Ja'afari reiterated Syria's call for the international community, specifically the Security Council, in addressing the crisis and to "lend crucial support towards the resumption and early conclusion of a credible, sustained and result-oriented peace process to the satisfaction of the Palestinian people."

After the debate, the GA will put to vote a draft resolution, which would call upon both Israel and Palestine to conduct "independent and credible" probes into the alleged war crimes.

Israel has rejected the Goldstone report on the ground that it is "biased" and "one-sided."

A four-member investigative team, led by Richard Goldstone from South Africa, found evidence that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, which may amount to crimes against humanity, during the conflict.

The Geneva-based Human Rights Council, when it took up the report two weeks ago, had strongly condemned a host of Israeli measures in the occupied Palestinian territory and called on both sides to implement the mission's recommendations.