UN appoints war crimes investigator to Gaza

Per BBC and Al Jazeera, the United Nations has appointed a team to investigate possible war crimes committed by Israel during its 22-day offensive in Gaza. The team will be led by South African judge Richard Goldstone, former investigator to Yugoslavia and Rwanda, with a mandate to focus only on Palestinian victims.

International human rights groups have alleged that Israel irresponsibly used high-powered weapons in densely populated areas, causing up to 900 civilian deaths out of the 1,100 to 1,400 killed, per the articles. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has countered that only a quarter of those killed were civilians. They have also claimed that Hamas used human shields.

Some Twittered about the claims about soldiers' actions and a recent op-ed.

1. 
   SanMan_ish testimony by Israeli soldiers substantiates charges that Israel's Gaza Strip assault entailed grave violations of international law. sad :( 05 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   hacktivism Israel on Trial: by George BisharatSAN FRANCISCO - Chilling testimony by Israeli soldiers substantiates charges .. http://tinyurl.com/cvh8wd 05 Apr 2009 from Identica
3. standwithus #israel #standwithus TV INTERVIEW ON SOLDIERS SPEAK OUT: Here is a TV interview from today (.. http://tinyurl.com/c5lm9p (expand)

   6 days ago from twitterfeed · Reply · View Tweet

Others responded to the UN investigation.

1. 
   Azizur (Manchester, UK) UK Politician says "Israel stands accused of war crimes witnessed by the whole world" | Ilmseeker http://ow.ly/23Te 04 Apr 2009 from HootSuite
2. 
   JURISTnews (Pittsburgh, PA) Israel criticizes UN Gaza war crimes investigation http://tinyurl.com/c3wrlz 04 Apr 2009 from twitterfeed
3. 
   tweetybirdt Should America put more pressure on Israel to avoid what happened in Gaza? 05 Apr 2009 from web
4. badbusiness Israel is brutalizing international law, in ways that may long outlast the demolition of Gaza.

UN appoints war crimes investigator to Gaza