Former NY Supreme Court Judge to Join UN Panel Probing Israel

A member of the commission who carried out the follow-up to the United Nations Human Rights Commission's Goldstone Report has been tapped to serve as the third member of the newest probe committee.

Former New York Supreme Court Judge Mary McGowan Davis is to take the place of British Lebanese attorney Amal Alamuddin, who declined the invitation to serve on the panel led by Canadian law professor William Schabas. The two will be joined by Doudou Diene.

The commission is intended to investigate whether the Israel Defense Forces were guilty of committing war crimes in countering terrorist activity this summer in Gaza, Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem; however, the panel is beginning its work without even acknowledging the basic definition of Hamas as a terrorist organization.

At present, Israel has decided not to cooperate with the panel in its investigation, based on past experience with probes that led to skewed conclusions based on false Gaza testimony and Israeli evidence omitted from reports.