Mirabelle writing at Israellycool has pointed out something very important.
Mirabelle points out that Schabas claims he had no real financial gain from his work for the PLO, and therefore the charges of bias and conflict of interest are incorrect:
In his continuing effort to claim that he is just a victim of the Zionist cabal, Schabas points out that he received only $1300 in compensation for the work he did for the PLO. Therefore, he claims, he had no real financial motive for bias. This argument, however, reveals more about him that what he intends.
Mirabelle then provides a description of the work was that Schabas did for the PLO:
His description of the work that he did for the PLO is a seven-page legal opinion on issues involving Palestinian statehood and the International Criminal Court. This would likely involve hours of research on obscure issues about which Schabas had a rare expertise. If Schabas had charged a fair price for such work, the bill could have easily been ten times the amount charged, or more. He basically did the work for the PLO close to free of charge.
How many lawyers do you know would only charge $1300 for a 7 page brief in an incredibly esoteric area of legal expertise?
None that I can think of, unless they have personal interest or sympathy for the client or the cause.
A trial lawyer Schabas won’t be with holes in his argument so wide you can launch an entire battery of Hamas rockets through it.
It’s bad enough Schabas did work for the PLO and didn’t disclose that information, which is certainly enough reason to have disqualified him in the first place, but by not taking fair compensation for his efforts, he confirmed where his sympathies and bias lies – which means his entire “investigation” is tainted with that bias, as will be the final report, whether his name is on it or not.
Out of curiosity, what else Schabas will do for a mere $1300?
The letter sent by Israel to the UNHRC: