Cabinet to appoint team to fight Goldstone report

[Scurrilous]

Barak prevents debate on Israeli committee for probing of Gaza war in favor of decision to fight legal results of report adopted by Human Rights Council

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3792865,00.html

<snip>

"Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday prevented a debate by the Security Cabinet on the possible establishment of an inquiry committee on Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

Barak said he believed such a committee would do more damage to Israel in the international arena, and commended the IDF once again for its conduct in the operation.

However the Cabinet did decide to establish a team to fight the Goldstone report, which claims Israel committed war crimes during Cast Lead, including its international and legal manifestations.

The team will be under the Foreign Ministry's jurisdiction, and will involve officials from other ministries if need be. Its main goal is to prepare for a possible debate on the report by the UN Security Council in December."


I quit Labor post over Barak failure to push peace - Daniel Ben-Simon

<snip>

"The last time we met, two days before the opening of the Knesset winter session, I asked Ehud Barak where he was heading. He said the Labor Party was on the right track. I asked why West Bank outposts hadn't been evacuated as promised, and he said that day was fast approaching. I posed a similar question to him toward the end of the summer session several months ago, and he told me the same thing - the day was approaching.

We would meet often in his favorite fortress, his spacious office in the Defense Ministry. As usual, he was in good spirits. Did he know something we didn't?

"Look, Ehud, there is no peace process, there are no negotiations, there's no settlement freeze or outpost evacuation. We haven't done anything we promised the public," I told him. "What will we tell the Israeli public?"

To my astonishment, he said we have no partner, that there's no one to talk to. I remembered that nearly a decade before, when we heard similar lines from Barak, they sank the country into despair and brought a series of misfortunes in their wake.

Is it possible Ehud Barak hasn't changed? Is Ehud model 2009 really the same as model 2001?"

more


Barak loses ally as Ben Simon quits chairman post

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1122320.html


Livni calls for extensive probe against Barak

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3792509,00.html

Following state comptroller's scathing report on Defense Ministry entourage's exaggerated expenses in Paris, reports on funds allegedly transferred to companies owned by Barak, Opposition leader demands investigation into his conduct. Labor chairman's aide in response: Livni should first take care of Kadima's suspects, convicts and prisoners before lecturing others

<snip>

"Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni on Tuesday morning called for an extensive inquiry into Defense Minister Ehud Barak's trip to the Paris Air Show earlier this year, following a harsh report on the matter released by the state comptroller.

Livni also called for an investigation into the activity of the Labor chairman's financial companies, following reports that millions of shekels have been transferred to these firms after Barak was appointed defense minister.

"My stance on this matter is clear: In my eyes, not everything which is not criminal is permitted," the Kadima chairwoman told Ynet. "I am not only talking about the conduct in regards to Paris, but also in regards to everything that has to do with Barak's companies.

"These things must be examined beyond state comptroller, on all aspects. I am a firm believer in incorruptibility and transparency, and I hope that here too there will be a norm of things that must not be done."


Israel's Napoleon: Ehud Barak's lavish lifestyle under scrutiny in Israeli media

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1122102.html

[bemildred]

1. Israel strives to change int'l law of war following Goldstone report

JERUSALEM, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday tasked his government to try to change the international law of war, as his country stiffens its response to a damning UN report on its winter offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Following his instruction, a number of Israeli government bodies are expect to embark upon a public relations initiative on the international stage to adapt the law of war to "the spread of terrorism throughout the world," according to a statement from the Government Press Office.

Netanyahu ordered the move during a special cabinet meeting, where top Israeli officials discussed the implications of the Gaza report, compiled by a UN fact-finding mission led by respectable South African jurist Richard Goldstone.

The 575-page document, endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council last week, accused both Israel and the Gaza-controlling Islamic Hamas movement of war crimes. Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the operation in last winter.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/21/content_12284381.htm

[azurnoir]

2. sounds like Ehud is worried

perhaps he is suffering from "sacrificial goat" syndrome