The United Nations inquiry into the May 2021 Gaza conflict is inherently biased against Israel, the International Legal Forum said this week in a report published in collaboration with a global coalition of over 25 Jewish and pro-Israeli organizations.
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The document – titled "Fixed Inquiry" – said that the appointment of South African jurist and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who has a history of anti-Israel rhetoric, as head of the commission suggests a lack of impartiality.
In the past, Pillay expressed support for the anti-Israel boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement and met with representatives of groups linked to the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, Israel, Canada, and Japan.
The probe headed by Pillay is slated to publish its initial findings in June, and the final report in September.
The report also pointed out that the investigation mandate Pillay received from the UN Human Rights Council has no mention of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups, which fired over 4,500 rockets into civilian areas in Israel during Operation Guardian of the Walls.
"Although the Palestinian leadership ... sought to deflect attention from the real cause of this conflict by blaming Israel for a legal dispute regarding property in Sheikh Jarrah [neighborhood in Jerusalem], these were all a pretext for the orchestrated Palestinian wave of terror and incitement, including diverting attention from the Palestinian Authority decision to postpone elections and the internal PA-Hamas tension," the report said.
"In response to this unprovoked aggression, Israel launched a defensive campaign against Hamas, which targeted the terror group's rocket arsenal, terror tunnels, command centers, and infrastructure in Gaza used to fire rockets at Israeli civilian communities.
"International law recognizes the inalienable right of states to use force in self-defense, both in conventional and customary international law ... Israel exercised this right in a manner fully compliant with international law, including the principles of necessity and proportionality," it said.
Chair and CEO of the International Legal Forum Arsen Ostrovsky has called for Pillay's immediate resignation.
"Pillay's appointment as head of the commission of inquiry into the events of Guardian of the Walls is a complete farce, which goes against the guidelines set by the Human Rights Council itself. These guidelines require the UN investigators to be objective and impartial about the subject they are investigating – neither of which can be said of Pillay. Therefore, she must resign immediately."
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