This week in war crimes

Ban issued a statement (pdf) on Friday on Israel's investigation, and also on a separate Palestinian Authority probe, led by prime minister Salam Fayyad. He didn't mention the Hamas "investigation," and said it's too early to tell whether the other two are legitimate.

I note from the materials received that the processes initiated by the Government of Israel and the Government of Switzerland are ongoing, and that the Palestinian side initiated its process on 25 January 2010. As such, no determination can be made on the implementation of the resolution by the parties concerned.

For all the hype about this "much-anticipated" statement from Ban, it was really a non-event. Israel's foreign ministry still tried to spin his statement as an endorsement of their investigation -- which is being conducted entirely by the Israeli Defense Forces.

But it's too early to pronounce the report dead (as even Israeli diplomats are willing to admit). The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said on Friday that it has "grave concerns" about the Israeli and Palestinian investigations. Human Rights Watch issued a statement on Saturday urging Israel to conduct a civilian investigation, which prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly favors.

"Israel claims it is conducting credible and impartial investigations, but it has so far failed to make that case," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch. "An independent investigation is crucial to understand why so many civilians died and to bring justice for the victims of unlawful attacks."

And Ha'aretz, citing diplomatic sources, said the General Assembly is likely to send the report to The Hague. That would mean the UNGA has little confidence in the Israeli and Palestinian probes: Richard Goldstone recommended the UN send the report to the International Criminal Court only if both sides aren't willing to conduct legitimate investigations.