The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution calling on Israeli and Palestinian authorities to conduct an independent and trustworthy inquiry into crimes in Gaza.
The resolution, known as the Goldstone report, provides evidence of serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza by Israel and Hamas alike during the 2008-2009 military operations. The "Cast Lead" Offensive launched by Israel in Gaza a year ago in response to attacks by Palestinian militants left about 1.4 thousand Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.
Members of the investigating panel came to the conclusion that the Israeli and Palestinian operations can be qualified as military crimes or even crimes against humanity. The conclusions base on testimony from nearly 200 people, documents, photos and video recordings. The United Nations has given Palestinians and Israelis five months to carry out thorough inquiries into the incidents. Under the resolution, the Security Council will resort to further measures should the two parties fail to effect quality investigation in due time.
At a time when the situation in the Middle East remains unstable, this approach on the part of the world community can only be welcomed. Given the situation, both parties should demonstrate maximum restraint. Any attempts to settle the conflict by force will cause an aggravation.
Against the current steps to resume the peace dialogue, a forceful solution is out of the question. In December last year Russia proposed a ministerial session of Middle East Quartet in Moscow. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko, a meeting of Middle East mediators would give fresh impetus to a Middle East settlement.
Under the current circumstances, when the dangerous break in Palestinian-Israeli has lasted for a year, the parties concerned must prevent any destabilization and try to get the dialogue resumed. At a crucial moment like this, a concerted effort from the world community comes more than handy. All four mediators have supported the proposal, and the meeting will take place on March 19th.
As it appears, efforts from the UN General Assembly and the four Middle East mediators are running parallel but complementing each other.
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