PNA completes investigation on performance in Gaza war

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has completed a "documented investigation" demanded by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in the wake of the Israeli war against Gaza one and a half years ago.

Judge Essa Abu Sharar, head of the independent investigation committee which Palestinian President Abbas had formed, said he handed a report that includes the results of the Israeli violations to President Mahmoud Abbas.

"The PNA will send the results to the United Nations Secretary General tomorrow," Abu Sharar said. "Monday is the deadline to submit the report."

The PNA's investigation focuses on the violations from the Palestinian side, including violations by Palestinian forces in the West Bank against Hamas supporters, restrictions on the freedom of expression in the PNA-controlled West Bank and firing tens of employees for political backgrounds.

Israel and Hamas were the main players in the fighting form Dec. 27, 2008 to Jan. 18, 2009.

A 575-page report by a UN fact-finding mission accused Israel of committing war crimes during its military operation in Gaza and criticized Hamas' rockets on southern Israeli territories during the operation as violations of laws of war.

But in February, the UN General Assembly gave the concerned parties another chance to present impartial probes by July, after it saw Israel and the Palestinian authorities failed to respond to conclusions of justice Richard Goldstone who led the UN team of investigation into hostilities during the three-week offensive.

Abu Sharar said that the investigation covered the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, adding that the committee managed to interview victims from Gaza through the video conferencing system.

Source: Xinhua