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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-UN-Hamas-and-Alice-in-Wonderland-368970
The UN, Hamas, and Alice in Wonderland
(Jerusalem Post) Irwin Cotler - The UN Human Rights Council's vote to launch an international inquiry into alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza has an Alice-in-Wonderland feel of "sentence first, verdict afterwards," because the resolution presupposes Israeli guilt. If precedent - such as the Goldstone Commission following the 2009 war - be the guide, the inquiry will likely marginalize war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Hamas. Israel is systematically denied equality before the law in the international arena. Israel must respect human rights, but the rights of Israel deserve equal respect. Human rights standards should be applied to Israel, but must be equally applied to all others. Regrettably, this prejudicial UN decision will only encourage Hamas criminality, with Israeli and Palestinian civilians themselves as the tragic victims. The writer is a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.