U.N. assembly set to call for probes of Gaza war

By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Dozens of nations voiced support on Wednesday for a U.N. resolution that would demand that Israel and the Palestinians probe charges of war crimes in the Gaza war in a report blasted by Israel and the U.S. Congress.

The nonbinding resolution on the so-called Goldstone report, which looked certain to be approved by the 192-nation General Assembly, also requests U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send the 575-page report to the Security Council.

The report, commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council and published on Sept. 15, lambasted both sides in the December-January conflict, which killed more than 1,000 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, but was harsher toward Israel.

Diplomats say there is little chance the report or the Arab-drafted resolution could lead to punishment of either side. But it has enraged Israel and galvanized American Jews.

In the assembly debate, Arab envoys praised the report by South African jurist Richard Goldstone and demanded an end to what they called the Jewish state's impunity. But Israel damned the document as "conceived in hate and executed in sin."

There is no veto in the assembly and the resolution looked sure to win a majority. But with some 50 envoys on the speakers list, mainly from Arab and other Muslim countries, the session ran out of time and the debate was adjourned to Thursday.

Israel's ally the United States was one of a small number of countries expected to vote against the resolution. In a clear warning to the administration, the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday urged President Barack Obama to oppose U.N. endorsement of Goldstone's findings.