A UN fact-finding commission into alleged violations of international law committed during Israel’s recent offensive is expected arrived in Gaza via Egypt’s Rafah crossing on Monday morning.
The inquiry is led by a Jewish South African jurist, Richard Goldstone, former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Israel has announced it will refuse to cooperate with Goldstone’s investigation, while Hamas, the ruling power in Gaza, says it welcomes the team, which was tapped by the UN’s Human Rights Council.
Hamas Interior Minister Ghazi Hamad and local UN officials met the investigators at the crossing.
The team also includes Christine Chinkin, professor of international law at the London School of Economics; Hina Jilani, a human rights advocate from Pakistan; and Desmond Travers, a former officer in the Irish Armed Forces with expertise on international criminal investigations.
According to a statement issued by the UN in Geneva, the team’s initial field visits will take place over the coming five days, with future visits in the works.
The commission was established with a mandate to "investigate all violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations that were conducted in Gaza during the period from 27 December 2008 and 18 January 2009, whether before, during or after."
"In accordance with its mandate," the UN statement said, "the Mission will focus on relevant violations by all parties in the entire occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza and the West Bank, and Israel."
More than 1,400 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, were killed during the three week assault in December and January.
Israel maintains that its own internal investigations are sufficient inquiry into war crimes allegations, but human rights organizations reject these probes as a cover-up.