Other Voices TV Peninsula Peace and Justice Center http://www.peaceandjustice.org A conversation withJoel Beinin Professor, Middle East History, Stanford University "Failing to pursue justice for serious violations during the fighting will have a deeply corrosive effect on international justice, and reveal an unacceptable hypocrisy. As a service to the hundreds of civilians who needlessly died and for the equal application of international justice, the perpetrators of serious violations must be held to account." ~ Richard Goldstone Head of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict Former chief prosecutor for war-crime tribunals on Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia In September of this year, the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, headed up by South African jurist Richard Goldstone, unveiled the results of its investigations into war crimes during Israel’s "Operation Cast Lead," a massive attack on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009. The Mission concluded that both sides in the conflict — the Hamas-led government in Gaza and the Israeli Defense Forces -- committed war crimes and that justice must be pursued. Washington's response was to call the report "flawed." Israel responded that the report was "biased." Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, initially refused to support the report's referral to the UN Security Council. "I have yet to hear from the Obama administration what the flaws in the report that they have identified are. I would be happy to respond to them, if and when I know what they are." ~ Richard Goldstone On this Other Voices program, we will look into just what is in Goldstone's report, why the various actors have responded in the ways they have, and what must be done to pursue justice in this situation. Prof. Joel Beinin is one the country's top analysts on the Israel-Palestine conflict and a frequent and welcome guest on Other Voices.