Ayalon: Democracies will stop Goldstone Report
Let's go to the videotape and then I'll have more. The Ayalon interview starts at the 0:45 mark.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff said Washington had serious concerns about the report, including what he said was its "unbalanced focus on Israel." But he repeated the U.S. view that Israel should look into it.
"We take the allegations in the report seriously," he told the council. "Israel has the institutions and the ability to carry out serious investigations of these allegations and we encourage it to do so."
...
British Ambassador John Sawers called on Israel to launch proper investigations into the charges outlined in the report.
"We note that the Israeli Defense Force has already conducted and is continuing to conduct a number of investigations," Sawers said. "However, concerns remain."
"We urge the Israeli government to carry out full, credible and impartial investigations into the allegations," he added.
French Ambassador Gerard Araud urged both sides to initiate "independent inquiries in line with international standards."
UN Undersecretary-General Lynn Pascoe told the council that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also wanted "credible domestic investigations" based on the Goldstone report.
The best case scenario here may be that the United States abstains on a resolution that is so watered down as to be meaningless. The worst case is that it votes in favor of any resolution. The United States will do all it can to avoid having to exercise its veto. The Arabs may choose either path: They may try to force the United States to exercise the veto in order to embarrass it, or they may try to reach a consensus in the hope of getting something that can be used as a club against Israel.
What could go wrong? This time, I'm afraid that the answer is "an awful lot."
Israel Matzav: Ayalon: Democracies will stop Goldstone Report
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