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August 13, 2014

Israel: U.N. War Crimes Probe a "Kangaroo Court" 
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The Israeli government is rejecting a three-member United Nations panel
convened to investigate possible war crimes committed by both Hamas and
Israel. Canadian professor of international law William Schabas will
head the panel along with Doudou Diène of Senegal, a veteran U.N. human
rights expert. British-Lebanese lawyer Amal Alamuddin was initially
named to the panel but pulled out shortly after her appointment was
announced. She recently made headlines after it was announced she was
engaged to marry Hollywood actor George Clooney. On Tuesday, Israeli
government spokesperson Mark Regev dismissed the panel as a "kangaroo
court."

Mark Regev: "This so-called commission of inquiry established by the
U.N. Human Rights Council is a travesty. It has about as much
credibility as a kangaroo court. And its chairman, well, he has such a
documented record of anti-Israel bias, I think any fair-minded person
would demand that he recuse himself."

Speaking to The Daily Beast, panel Chair William Schabas dismissed
claims of an anti-Israel bias as "a slur" and "slander."