By Ma’an News Agency – 4 Oct 2009
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=229678
The secretary of the PLO Executive Committee, Abed Rabbo said in a statement that “after deliberations among President Abbas and members of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, President Abbas issued a decree to form a committee to find the reasons behind postponement of the debate on Goldstone’s report at the UN Human Rights Council.”
“The mission of the committee will be specifying the responsibilities concerning this issue and to submit a report to PLO Executive Committee within two weeks,” the statement added.
The PLO’s apparent capitulation in the Human Rights Council was widely denounced by the political factions, civil society organizations and the families of the victims of Israel’s three-week assault on Gaza last winter.
The latest official to condemn the PLO’s actions in the Human Rights Council was Salim Zanoun, the speaker of the Palestinian National Council (PNC). In a statement issued on Sunday afternoon, he said he was “shocked” at the decision to delay action on the report.
Zanoun said he supported calls for an investigation to find out who was responsible for the Geneva move.
According to the news agency AFP, Palestinian Authority Minister of National Economy Bassem Khoury tendered his resignation over the PA’s involvement in the deferral of the Goldstone report. In an interview with Ma’an however, he refused to confirm or deny this report.
Also on Saturday, a coalition of 16 Palestinian human rights and legal organizations condemned the PA and PLO leadership in a news conference in Gaza.
“As human rights organizations we strongly condemn the Palestinian leaderships’ decision to defer the proposal endorsing all the recommendations of the Fact Finding Mission, and the pressure exerted by certain members of the international community,” the organizations said in a statement read at the news conference.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” the groups said.
