UNDERSTANDING
THE GOLDSTONE REPORT

The following is an excerpt from a Memorandum submitted by Maurice Ostroff to the UNHRC on the Goldstone Report.  It discusses the issue of how little freedom to speak exists in Gaza, thus leaving the Goldstone Mission with the double problem of not being able to get access to dissenting voices (who might criticize Hamas), and having the witnesses they do hear concerned that their testimony not "get them in trouble."

3. Lack of freedom to investigate in Gaza
Although Judge Goldstone praised the Hamas administration in Gaza for its cooperation, as contrasted with Israel's refusal to cooperate, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported on June 2, that while the Mission's mandate called for investigating violations by all parties, including Palestinian fighters and the Hamas-led government, it was unclear if authorities in Gaza would cooperate with that aspect of the inquiry. See http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38258.

On June 9, Ma'an reported that the Mission was experiencing difficulties in collecting information because Hamas-allied security forces accompanied the 15-member team, potentially inhibiting the ability of witnesses to speak freely, a factor that obviously needs to be taken into account in assessing the credibility of testimony received.

In view of the above circumstances and the widely reported violent retribution inflicted by Hamas on dissidents, (including being thrown from tall buildings), the lack of testimony about storage of weapons in houses, mosques and schools cannot be accepted as evidence that this did not occur on a wide scale.