The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this week announced the formation of a U.N. fact-finding mission to investigate war crimes during the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this year. The appointment of South African judge Richard Goldstone, the chief U.N. prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, came after a widespread call for the United Nations to take seriously the allegations about Israel’s actions during the three-week offensive.

South African Judge Richard Goldstone was the chief U.N. prosecutor in the International Criminal Tribunals involving the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

The inquiry will also look into possible war crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian parties that intentionally targeted civilians. The U.N. Human Rights Council president Martin Uhomoibhi said the fact-finding mission would deal “with all violations.”
While high-profile rocket attacks on Israeli communities left little question of direct targeting, the Israeli blockade on media access to Gaza, along with the government’s insistence to be taking every step necessary to avoid civilian casualties, denied outside observers the opportunity to evaluate Israel’s conduct.

Specifically, an investigation will have to look into whether Israel met its obligations under international law. One of the primary treaties governing the laws of war and military occupation is the Fourth Geneva Convention. It protects civilians in times of war and under any military occupation by a foreign power. Article 3 expressly forbids violence to life and person, hostage-taking, outrages upon personal dignity and denying people certain aspects of fair trials.

In the months since the cessation of the attack, numerous allegations of Israeli misconduct have emerged. An impartial, fact-finding investigation is justified by the gravity of the allegations, the high proportion of civilian casualties, and the failure of the Israeli government to seriously investigate them. Despite Israel’s opposition to the investigation, the international community’s credibility depends on decisive action.

The fact-finding mission will be looking into a conflict that left behind a considerable number of dead civilians. According to the Israeli military’s estimates, they killed 1,166 Palestinians, 709 (60%) of whom were “terror operatives.” If the remaining 40% were civilians, this implies a 3 to 2 ratio of militant to civilian deaths. Such a proportion should necessarily raise questions into the extent by which the military avoided civilian casualties. The United Nations special rapporteur, Richard Falk, relayed different estimates in a report to the UNGA: Of the 1,434 Palestinians killed, 960 (67%) were civilians, including 121 women and 288 children.

For Falk, the question of proportionality is not the central question. His report states, “recourse to force was not legally justified given the circumstances and diplomatic alternatives available, and was potentially a crime against peace.”

It calls for an “expert inquiry” that also considers appropriate accountability. This should not be a controversial expectation. Even one critic who accused Falk of downplaying Israel’s self-defense argument agreed that it “should be investigated thoroughly.”

While Palestinian accounts are bountiful, the release of Israeli soldiers’ testimonies made such an investigation requisite. A leading Israeli newspaper, Ha’aretz, published the personal stories of a group of Israeli fighters who graduated from the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory course at Oranim Academic College in Tivon. In summary, the report announced, “Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under permissive rules of engagement and intentionally destroyed their property.” An Israeli military investigation closed on the subject, finding no criminal activities and dismissing the soldiers’ stories in the news reports as “hearsay.”

The extent of destruction in Gaza surprised many. Professor John Dugard, the former U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and visiting distinguished professor of law at Duke University, spoke recently at the Palestine Center. Dugard has visited Gaza twice each year since 2001 and previously “witnessed evidence of horrendous bombings and killings and house destructions.” “But,” he added, “the most recent attack surpassed all the others.”

The U.N. Human Rights Council president Martin Uhomoibhi said “the ultimate purpose of the council will not be served if that mandate does not allow for the establishment of an independent and impartial fact-finding mission… that would gain the credibility of all sides.” Given the United Nations’ role as the leading institution embodying international law, there are simply too many serious allegations of war crimes violations to not instigate such an investigation.