Reported here and below, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has lined up with a key provision of Goldstone report debate at the outset of debate on the Gaza war this morning at the U.N.:

UN urges 'credible' probes into Gaza war
October 14, 2009

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urges Israel and the Palestinians to conduct, without delay, "credible" domestic probes of war crimes allegations during the Gaza conflict, a top UN official said Wednesday.

Ban "calls upon all of the parties to carry out credible domestic investigations into the conduct of the conflict without delay," UN Under Secretary General for political affairs Lynn Pascoe told the UN Security Council.

"He hopes that such steps will be taken wherever there are credible allegations of human rights abuses throughout the world," he added.

Pascoe noted that Ban's call dovetails with a key recommendation in a UN report that accused both Israel and Palestinian armed groups of war crimes during the three-week Gaza conflict over the new year.

The damning report by a team led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone, a former international war crimes prosecutor, also directed Ban to bring its report to the attention of the UN Security Council for follow-up action, which could be a referral to the International Criminal Court.

(Note to Israel Lobby: any anti-Ban smears at hand?) Tomorrow, the UN Human Rights Council takes up the report:

Human Rights Council to discuss recent UN probe into Gaza conflict
October 13, 2009

The Human Rights Council announced today that it will hold a special session on Thursday to discuss the report of the recent United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict that took place at the start of the year. . . .

The mission, headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, 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 in December 2008 and January 2009.

Presenting his report to the Council late last month, Justice Goldstone called for an end to impunity for those found to have committed human rights violations.

"It is accountability above all that is called for in the aftermath of the regrettable violence that has caused so much misery for so many," he said.

Justice Goldstone urged the Council to implement a number of measures, including a referral of the mission's report to the Security Council, since neither the Government of Israel nor the responsible Palestinian authorities have so far carried out any credible investigations into alleged violations.

Meanwhile and empowered by the Goldstone report, the divestment movement in the U.S. courageously marches on, university by university. Yesterday the University of Wisconsin took on Israel's bulldozers:

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January 17, 2009, Israeli airstrike on UN school in Gaza

Always good when popular pressure forces a politician to do the right thing. In this case, the right thing is to discuss and act on the Goldstone report, which detailed possible Israeli and Hamas war crimes during Israel's invasion of Gaza last December and January. West Bank president Mahmoud Abbas reversed an earlier stance (purchased by the U.S.) to delay action, and now supports getting the report discussed on Wednesday by the Security Council and then referred to the UN Human Rights Council:

Criticism forces Abbas to harden stance
October 12, 2009
Michael Jansensus

. . . Many Palestinians were outraged when [Abbas] shook hands with Mr Netanyahu at an encounter arranged by US president Barack Obama on the sidelines of opening of the UN General Assembly.

Mr Abbas had said that he would not meet or negotiate with Mr Netanyahu until he agreed to freeze all Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Under US political and financial pressure, Mr Abbas capitulated to what a Palestinian observer called a "$200 million handshake,"referring to the amount the US pledged for PA budgetary support by the end of the year.

Outrage became fury when the PA agreed to postpone endorsement by the UN Human Rights Council of a report on crimes committed during Israel's war on Gaza earlier this year.

Palestinian economy minister Bassem Khoury resigned in protest, other PA figures called the decision a mistake, and Palestinians staged a rally in Ramallah. . . .

. . . In an attempt to limit damage over the Goldstone report, Mr Abbas instructed the PA delegation in Geneva and the Palestinian observer at UN to press for an early discussion in either the Human Rights Council or the Security Council of the 575-page document, which provides evidence of Israeli and, to a lesser extent, Hamas war crimes.

Fearing involvement of the International Criminal Court, Israel has threatened to pull out of US-brokered talks if the Goldstone report is endorsed and its recommendations are adopted.

Though it won't be as effective as human rights activists wish, especially not in the U.S., displaying Israeli immorality and criminality to the world is still the most promising path for international resistance to take. At least it gets real results (a series of diplomatic and popular blows against Israel are listed in "Israel-Turkey relations hit new low"), and the real results would mount if Israel continues on its present path. In addition, campaigning for basic human rights in Palestine and against war criminality on both sides is so obviously right and fair-minded that even members of the Israeli home team are swayed (see British UN ambassador in article below). Maybe even more so when the main argument against justice is 'you/they did it too':

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As I watch more and more coverage from media outlets of interviews with "average Americans" giving "their opinions" I become less believing of the common political and media mantra of the intelligence of the average American. While there are many Americans who are politically, financially, and socially savvy, there is also a large number who are not. My question is, "Are all opinions of equal value?"

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So we know Hamas loves to use media to spread hate propaganda which incites adults and young kids to violence. Well, now, in Gaza, Hamas has take it to a new level:

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Just kidding.

Cecilie Surasky of MuzzleWatch, the antipropaganda site run by Jewish Voice for Peace, sent out this alert on July 14 2009:

That commenter on your blog may actually be working for the Israeli government.

ProIsrael bloggers working through organizations such as the Israel Project and GIYUS or independently are long known and even welcomed components of the Israeli-Palestinian debate. While their "talking points" are hackneyed and transparent and follow the line of official Israeli propaganda (hasbara), this is the first time we have heard about paid Israeli agents taking part. That's new. And with them, we have a new role identity: the "talkbackers."

But what's not to like. The more publicity the better, I say, as it helps to keep the Obama Middle East drum beating.

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