(Ynet). Defense Minister Ehud Barak informed United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon on Monday that Israel will not cooperate with the UN investigative committee headed by South African Justice Richard Goldstone, which arrived in Israel earlier in the day to begin its probe into allegations of Israeli war crimes during Operation Cast Lead.
The two met in New York, Barak told the secretary general that Israel expects the organization, and the international community, to increase efforts to secure the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit.
The Iranian nuclear threat was also discussed at the meeting. Barak said Tehran "is endangering both regional and global stability. We insist that the economic sanctions on the Iranians be intensified."
The defense minister said however that "no options should be taken off the table – we say it, mean it, and recommend that others do the same."
Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Barak explained that Israel would not cooperate with the UN investigation because by its very nature it cannot be objective. "We view the mandate this committee has received to deal with war crimes as a very serious matter. We will apparently not be cooperating with this committee, even though Goldstone is extremely well-respected both in the world and (by Israel)," he said.
Israel has previous experience with similar committees, the defense minister continued. "They won't be examining the other side, they won't be examining terror attacks throughout the years, including the rocket attacks on Israeli citizens. This is not a committee that can reach an unbiased conclusion, and so I doubt that we will cooperate with this investigation."
Asked whether Israel accepts the two-state solution, Barak said: "Israel wants peace with its neighbors. We are in favor of a regional process. This government recognizes all the agreements signed by previous governments, and that answers the question."
