JURIST - Paper Chase: Israel asks UN rights committee to cease probe into 2008-2009 Gaza conflict

[JURIST] The Israeli Ambassador to the UN on Monday called for an end to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] investigation into Israeli actions during the 2008-2009 Gaza campaign [JURIST news archive], Operation Cast Lead, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 Palestinians. The ambassador, Aharon Leshno Yaar, called the UNHRC investigation biased [Jerusalem Post report] and said that Israel was conducting its own investigation to determine whether there was any Israeli misconduct during the campaign. Last week, the UNHRC criticized [JURIST report] the efforts of both Israel and Hamas in investigating any abuses during the conflict. Yaar's opinion of the UNHRC is shared by others [Jerusalem Post op-ed] within Israel who see the council as a "farce," partly because of the inclusion of Saudi Arabia and Libya.

In July, a group of lawyers in Morocco filed a complaint against Israeli officials [JURIST report], including former prime minister Ehud Barak, for violation of anti-terror laws during Operation Cast Lead. A similar complaint was previously filed in the UK, prompting Israeli military officials to cancel a January trip [JURIST report] to that nation amid fears that they would be arrested. Earlier in July, Israel announced that several soldiers would face disciplinary action [JURIST report] for their role in the conflict, including a charge of manslaughter for one soldier.