Travers: We found no evidence that Hamas used civilians as hostages. I had expected to find such evidence but did not. We also found no evidence that mosques were used to store munitions. Those charges reflect Western perceptions in some quarters that Islam is a violent religion. Gaza is densely populated and has a labyrinth of makeshift shanties and a system of tunnels and bunkers. If I were a Hamas operative the last place I’d store munitions would be in a mosque. It’s not secure, is very visible, and would probably be pre-targeted by Israeli surveillance. There are a many better places to store munitions. We investigated two destroyed mosques-one where worshippers were killed-and we found no evidence that either was used as anything but a place of worship. – MJ Rosenberg
Michael Goldfarb has found another club. Never mind that it won’t do Israel much good to go after J Street, because condemning the Goldstone report will just ignite the usual suspects to say that Israel won’t take responsibility for its actions.
Spencer Ackerman has the text of the House resolution:
RESOLUTION
Calling on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the `Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict’ in multilateral fora.
Whereas, on January 12, 2009, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed Resolution A/HRC/S-9/L.1, which authorized a `fact-finding mission’ regarding Israel’s conduct of Operation Cast Lead against violent militants in the Gaza Strip between December 27, 2008, and January 18, 2009;
Whereas the resolution pre-judged the outcome of its investigation, by one-sidedly mandating the `fact-finding mission’ to `investigate all violations of international human rights law and International Humanitarian Law by . . . Israel, against the Palestinian people . . . particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, due to the current aggression’;
Whereas the mandate of the `fact-finding mission’ makes no mention of the relentless rocket and mortar attacks, which numbered in the thousands and spanned a period of eight years, by Hamas and other violent militant groups in Gaza against civilian targets in Israel, that necessitated Israel’s defensive measures; … ..
It’s a squeeze play, pure and simple, that intends to empower Netanyahu over Pres. Obama from people who never see the other side of this sorry story, only Israel’s. How’s that working for the Israelis so far?
At the J Street conference this week, over and over again you heard progressive American Jews and their allies like former Sen. Chuck Hagel talk about honoring the Palestinians and their fight for human rights and the ability to live full lives.
Via Ken Silverstein we get another dose of inhumanity.
There are a number of other post-conflict issues in Gaza that need to be addressed. The land is dying. There are toxic deposits from all the munitions that have been dropped. There are serious issues with water—its depletion and its contamination. There is a high instance of nitrates in the soil that is especially dangerous to children. If these issues are not addressed, Gaza may not even be habitable by World Health Organization norms.
The current House resolution as it stands won’t help Israel or the Palestinians, let alone Sect. Clinton who is meeting with both Abbas and Netanyahu, even as the latter hopes to use the Goldstone report to delay meaningful talks, even if the status quo endangers Israel more than anyone.
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