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Israel Is Appalled and Disappointed by the Goldstone Report
[Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs] The report effectively ignores Israel's right of self-defense, makes unsubstantiated claims about its intent and challenges Israel's democratic values. At the same time the report all but ignores the deliberate strategy of Hamas of operating within and behind the civilian population. The report barely disguises its goal of instigating a political campaign against Israel. Despite the many widely reported instances of the abuse of civilian facilities by terrorist groups, and the statements of Hamas' own leaders praising women and children who acted as human shields, the report repeatedly stated that it could find no evidence of such activities. The report devotes considerable attention to "repression of dissent in Israel." It bases this assertion in large part on the widespread support for the military operation in the Israeli public. The notion that the majority of Israelis genuinely supported action to bring years of continuous rocket and missile attacks against Israeli civilians to an end does not appear to have occurred to the members of the UN mission. Regrettably, a one-sided report of this nature, claiming to represent international law, can only weaken the standing of law in future conflicts. At the same time, it will broadcast a deeply troubling message to terrorist groups wherever they are that the cynical tactics of seeking to exploit civilian suffering for political ends actually pays dividends.