Hezbollah slams countries that voted against Goldstone report

Oct 18, 2009, 9:44 GMT

Beirut - The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah condemned Sunday the countries that voted against the UN Human Rights Council's endorsement of the Goldstone report on the Hamas-Israel conflict in the Gaza Strip last December and January.

Hezbollah criticized countries that voted against the decision, specifically the United States, saying that their position clearly shows the 'moral degradation which some countries have reached.'

The statement said that if the council's resolution had targeted Arabs and Palestinians then the position of these countries would have been different.

'This constitutes an additional condemnation, since it exposes the countries' bias and their adoption of a double standard policy,' the statement added.

Hezbollah said that by protecting Israel and preventing legal action being taken against the government of Israel, countries 'encourage it to commit further crimes and turn these countries into partners in the crimes.'

The party called for all international bodies, human rights associations and judicial institutions to take all proper measures 'to punish Zionist war criminals.'

On Friday, the 47-member Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the so-called 'Goldstone report', which accuses both Israel and Hamas militants of war crimes committed during the 22-day Gaza conflict.

The resolution was passed by a vote of 25 in favour and six against, including the US and several European countries, while the remainder abstained.