Committee formed to investigate the postpone of Goldstone report

Gaza, October 5, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) - Early Monday a committee was formed to investigate the circumstances of the Palestinian Authority agreeing to back-off from the Goldstone Report. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked the Palestinian leadership to support postponing a vote to accept the findings that proved the Israelis committed war crimes in Gaza. The public has taken to the streets for demonstrations, the most major being in central Ramallah's Manara Circle this afternoon.

The committee formed is considered to be of political importance because it is the first time that Mahmoud Abbas and his capacity as Chairman of the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization, and as President of Palestine, is being seriously investigated.

On the home front several accusations are flying and none of them are good. The investigating committee is composed of three figures, led by member of the PLO Executive Committee Hanna Amira. The Secretary of the Central Election Commission and the Commissioner-General of Public Accountability are also involved.

Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo announced today that the Committee's task is "a thorough investigation into the circumstances of postponing the decision of the United Nations Council for Human Rights on the Goldstone report of on war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, as well as to determine the responsibilities in this regard."

Abed Rabbo said that the committee was formed after discussions with President Abbas and members of the Executive Committee, along with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. He noted that the Commission would submit its report during the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization within two weeks.

The Arab League has also registered a complaint, saying that it had not been consulted nor informed. Its sources found that the US has pressured Arab countries as well as the Palestinian leadership to withdraw the report, and not merely postpone the debate.

Given the fact that the Palestine Liberation Organization only has observer status at the United Nations and is not a permanent member, the acceptance of any request by the UN of the Palestinian mission is called into question.

Meanwhile leftists in the West Bank are asking whether the "clean members of Fateh" will rectify the situation, or whether the Palestinian "leadership" will become on entirely disconnected from the people and run instead from Washington.