The United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, is a team established in August 2014 by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict as an independent international fact-finding mission to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Palestinian territories, particularly the Gaza Strip, in connection with the conflict. Although the West Bank and Fatah are included in the investigation, the focus of the report is on Gaza and Hamas. In February 2015, the chairman of the commission, William Schabas, resigned after it was revealed that he had been a paid consultant for the PLO in 2012. The final report of the Commission was issued on 22 June 2015.
On 11 August 2014, the UN announced their committee was established to investigate the alleged war crimes during the conflict.
William Schabas, a Canada professor of international law, was announced that he would head the committee.
Amal Clooney, from Lebanon was selected due to her expertise on international law. Although originally selected to participate, turned down the offer.
Doudou Diène, was selected due to his expertise on racial discrimination.
Mary McGowan Davis, a former NY Supreme Court Judge, was selected on 25 August to be the third member, replacing Clooney.
Mandate of mission and expertise
The investigation was slated to invigilate beginning 13 June 2014, and include all Palestinian territories, a day after the 2014 kidnapping and murder of Israeli teenagers. The committee's report is due back in March 2015.
Richard Kemp says that Judge Davis admitted that her committee, though investigating a war, had no military expertise.
Israel - The committee was criticized by Israel as being biased against Israel, and was to referred to by Israel as a Kangaroo Court. Israel's UN Ambassador, Ron Prosor, met with Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, to request he condemn the appointment Schabas, comparing to the appointment of Schabas to ISIS teaching religious tolerance. Netanyahu spoke out against the fact finding mission, stating that by investigating Israel, the UN is legitimizing what he said was terror groups like Hamas and ISIS.
United States - US State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf stated that although there are certain aspects that should be investigated, however criticized the committee by saying “there’s a way to investigate things that’s not one-sided and biased, and there’s a way that we don’t support.”
Palestinian Authority - Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, stated that he was confident that the committee would find Israel guilty of war crimes.
Colonel Richard Kemp CBE (ret.), former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, stated that the committee's report was flawed and dangerous, "that can only provoke further violence and loss of life." Saying that the report starts with preoccupied attributions for responsibilities for the conflict to Israel's blockade of Gaza and the “protracted occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” he argues that Israel withdrew from Gaza 10 years ago and imposed a selective blockade only in response to attacks by Hamas (2007) and illegal imports of war materials from Iran. Judge Davis gave no evidence to substantiate the committee's claims of “serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law” by the IDF, Kemp says. He also said that the committee self-admittedly lacked military expertise, and Kemp stated that the report is in deed "characterized by a lack of understanding of warfare", and that it "legitimizes Hamas’s rocket and tunnel attacks and even sympathizes with the geographical challenges in launching rockets at Israeli civilians" out of densely populated areas, in violation of international humanitarian law.
