The Goldstone Investigation

Richard Goldstone, the South African jurist currently investigating alleged human rights violations in the Gaza Strip during the war several months ago, has reiterated his pledge that his report will be "balanced" and will deal with the abduction of Gilad Shalit as well as Hamas rocket fire into Israel. The question of whether Palestinian violations of human rights are up for investigation has been very murky, but regardless of what the body that appointed him thinks of the matter, Goldstone certainly seems to interpret his mandate as requiring that he look into both sides.

I certainly understand why the Israeli government has refused to cooperate in the probe -- the UNHRC has proven itself time and again to be an absolute joke (come and get me, Naomi Klein) that literally sees no evil but in Israel -- but I can't help but think they're missing an opportunity here. By all accounts Goldstone has taken his obligations to be impartial and fair to all parties quite seriously. When is the next time we'll get that from a UN investigation? This is a rare chance for Israel's story to get fair play in the international legal arena, and I can't help but think they're chucking it overboard.