The Palestinians and their allies have called for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to become involved in a row over Gaza war crimes investigations, proposing that he monitor whether Israel is conducting credible probes into alleged abuses during their conflict last winter, AP reported. The proposal was contained in a draft resolution circulated to members of the U.N. Human Rights Council ahead of a debate Thursday on a report that accuses Israeli forces of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. Almost 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the Dec. 27-Jan. 18 war. Israel has tried to discredit the report and its authors, claiming the panel of U.N. experts led by former South African judge Richard Goldstone was biased against the Jewish state. The Human Rights Council commissioned the report and had intended to vote on it in early October, but Palestinian diplomats agreed to delay consideration until March under heavy pressure from the United States, which feared it would jeopardize attempts to revive the Mideast peace process. -- SPA
