Reps. Wasserman Schultz and Klein Call United Nations Report "Unfair Attack against the State of Israel"

(Washington, DC)  —  Today, U.S. Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) and Ron Klein (FL-22) raised their concern over the official report of the United Nations Goldstone Commission on the recent conflict in Gaza.

“The United Nations’ report on the conflict in Gaza is reflective of a biased and one-sided mandate,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz. “Like all sovereign nations, Israel has not only a right, but moreover, an obligation, to ensure the safety and security of her citizens. Israel’s military operation was in response to eight years during which Hamas terrorists fired more than 10,000 rockets, mortars and missiles at Israeli towns and villages.”

“Despite these facts, and due to the original mandate that precluded it from drafting an objective report, the Commission concluded that Israel’s defensive operation was a war on Gaza’s civilian population. This claim is an outright distortion of the truth,” continued Rep. Wasserman Schultz.

“The report ignores the facts,” said Rep. Klein. “The terrorist threat surrounding Israel’s defensive operations in Gaza required a decisive response, and any sovereign nation would have—and should have—done what Israel did. This report was not guided by a commitment to human rights, but rather motivated by a bias against Israel. It is time for the U.N. Human Rights Council to immediately turn its attention to the very real human rights violators around the world and their victims, who are pleading for attention.”

Both Wasserman Schultz and Klein said that the report ignores evidence that many civilian casualties were a result of Hamas routinely using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Eyewitness testimonies, video and Israeli intelligence reports show that during the operation, Hamas stored weapons in mosques, used hospitals as headquarters, and intentionally endangered Palestinian civilians.

“As members of the Congressional Taskforce on Israel at the United Nations, we are troubled to see yet another biased, unfair attack against the State of Israel. Not only is this report a disgrace to the mission of the United Nations, but it distracts us from the real issue at hand – achieving lasting security in the Middle East. Israelis, Palestinians and the international community must not lose the focus of this important goal, and must continue working to fight terrorism and support peace.”