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http://english.aljazeera.net UN unveils latest Goldstone results The United Nations has released the latest results of Israeli and Palestinian investigations into alleged war crimes committed during Israel's war in Gaza in 2008 and 2009. Israel has carried out roughly four dozen investigations into alleged war crimes, according to a report provided to the UN. The investigations are being carried out by the army, however, not by an independent panel. Meanwhile, the Palestinian report to the UN was submitted by the Palestinian Authority. The results make no mention of any investigation by Hamas. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, declined to comment on the submissions. Human Rights Watch said in a statement that neither side has carried out an impartial investigation. "Israeli investigations still fall far short of being thorough and impartial, while Hamas appears to have done nothing at all to investigate alleged violations," the group said. Four Israeli prosecutions The investigations are a response to the so-called "Goldstone report," which was written by a panel led by Richard Goldstone, a South African judge. It accused both sides of war crimes, but most of its criticism was directed at Israel, which killed roughly 1,400 people during the war, according to rights groups. The UN in November gave both sides three months to investigate the report. It extended that deadline by another five months in February. Israel's update to the UN said the Israeli army launched more than 150 investigations into alleged crimes committed during the war. Roughly one-third of those resulted in criminal investigations, and four of those investigations led to prosecutions. Two officers were indicted for using artillery too close to civilian homes, for example. But the Israeli report also excused some of the most serious acts of destruction documented in the Goldstone report. The report accused Israel of violating international law, for example, by destroying Gaza's only working flour mill and a chicken coop housing more than 100,000 birds. Israeli army investigations concluded that neither of those incidents violated the law. The Goldstone report called for the UN to refer its findings to the International Criminal Court if Israel and Hamas do not carry out proper investigations.
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