Thaindian News

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) — Israeli President Shimon Peres called the report by the United Nations’ Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone, “a mockery of history.”

The 554-page report, the so-called Goldstone Commission Report released on Tuesday, detailed investigations into 36 incidents such as the shooting of civilians with white flags, the firing of white phosphorus shells and charges that Israeli soldiers used Palestinian men as human shields.

According to the report, these violations weren’t aberrations but rather appeared to be “the result of deliberate guidance issued to soldiers.”

The commission charged Palestinian groups with indiscriminately firing at southern Israel and causing terror among the civilian population. The mission didn’t find evidence of Israeli charges that Palestinian militants deliberately hid among civilians. Israel has released a number of videos purporting to show Hamas militants using civilians for cover..

On Thursday, Israeli President Peres released the following statement in response to the report:

“The Goldstone Commission report is a mockery of history. It fails to distinguish between the aggressor and a state exercising its right for self defense.

War itself is a crime. The aggressor is the criminal. The side exercising self-defense has no other alternative.

The Hamas terror organization has opened war and perpetrated other horrible crimes. For years, Hamas carried out attacks against the children of Israel, sending suicide bombers into city centers, injuring and killing civilians. They fired over 12,000 rockets and mortar shells at towns and villages with one clear aim - to kill innocent civilians.

The report legitimizes terrorist activity, the pursuit of murder and death. The report disregards the duty and right of self defense, held by every sovereign state as enshrined in the UN Charter.

Israel removed all of its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip, opened the border crossings and actively supported its reconstruction. The Israeli presence in Gaza was terminated.

But after Israel completed its redeployment from Gaza, a murderous and illegitimate terror group violently revolted against the legitimate Fatah leadership, overthrowing it by force.

Hamas operatives murdered Fatah leaders, at times throwing them from rooftops in broad daylight.

While Hamas continued firing, Israel employed, time and time again, the diplomatic channels, including many appeals to the UN – in an attempt to bring about a cessation of rocket fire.

Israel redeployed and terminated its presence in Gaza. Hamas responded with incessant rocket fire aimed at killing children, women and innocent civilians. Instead of building Gaza and caring for the welfare of its citizens, Hamas built tunnels to attack Israel, cruelly using children and innocent Palestinians to hide terrorists and ammunition.

Hamas terrorists built rocket launchpads and storages near schools, in mosques and kindergartens. They have booby-trapped urban neighborhoods and used Palestinian children as human-shields in order to hide terrorists and means of warfare.

The State of Israel was forced to defend itself. It acted out of obligation to its citizens, like any sister state in the family of nations would.

Israel has been criticized for its actions against Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon and Hamas attacks from the Gaza Strip, as well as for building the security barrier in the West Bank to prevent suicide bombers from entering the country.

This criticism did not stop the rockets from hitting the South and the North, nor did it stop terrorists from blowing themselves up in our central cities. The IDF operations enabled economic prosperity in the West Bank, relieved the South Lebanese citizens from the terror of Hezbollah and have enabled Gazans to have normal lives again.

Those in pursuit of peace have justice on their side. Those who monger war will forever be criminals.

Members of the commission would have never compiled such a report should their children resided in Sderot and have suffered the terror of daily rocket fire.”